Melting the Snow
by Twilight-Imp-626
Summary: Kaiba has always been cold towards everyone, except his little brother Mokuba. But when he meets Ari, one of his employees who is also an orphan, his whole world begins to change. SetoxOC or KaibaxOC, rated for a little bit of language.
1. First Encounter

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, this is my first fanfic. I originally planned to start out with something based on Naruto, but a friend of mine turned me onto the Yu-gi-oh Abridged Series on youtube, so I decided to do something with Yu-gi-oh._

_So, anyway, please be nice in the reviews because, personally, I need a bit of a confidence boost. I've never really considered myself a good writer, but I really wanted to give it a try. So please, no flames...because I might just end up hunting you down...and killing you in your sleep...yeah. Sorry, sorry, I'm on one of the biggest sugar highs of my life. No, seriously, I'm writing this at like 3:30 in the morning!!!! I seriously have no idea how I can stay up this late without my friends! We stayed up until 7:00 a.m. one time!!! _

_Alright, anyway, in this story I've paired Kaiba up with an original character with a tragic past so they can relate. Kaiba is 19, my character, Ari, is 18, her little brother, Kenta, is 14 and Mokuba is 14. _

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Well, that's about it, so onto the story!!!!_

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**Chapter 1**

Seto Kaiba typed on his laptop with almost inhuman speed. His blue eyes were focused on the screen, following the words as they appeared. The young CEO of Kaiba Corp was completely focused on his work, as always, and showed no signs of taking a break anytime soon. One could only pity the poor soul who tried to get him to stop for anything that did not relate to business. The person would probably suffer one of the young man's legendary glares, enough to give anyone nightmares for weeks.

The only one who might be able to get away with interrupting him was his beloved little brother. No matter what Mokuba did, Seto could never be truly angry with him. Their bond was too strong for that.

Looking at the clock, Seto realized that it was almost time for him to go and get Mokuba. He saved his work, got up from his chair, put on his long, white coat, and headed out the door of his office. When he finally reached the first floor of the building, he walked out of the building and to his car. He pulled out of the lot and headed toward his brother's school.

He finally arrived at the school, running late as usual, and pulled up to the front, where Mokuba was usually waiting impatiently. Today, however, Seto did not spot his little brother in his usual spot. He frowned and got out of the car, scanning the area for the young boy. He finally spotted him, sitting on the stairs with another boy of the same age.

"Mokuba!" he shouted.

Mokuba looked up and saw his brother waiting for him. Seto watched as he turned back towards the other boy, said something quickly, then got up and ran to where his brother was waiting.

"Hey, bro!" he exclaimed happily as he got closer.

Seto glanced back and the other boy, then back to Mokuba.

"Who were you talking to over there?" he asked, nodding his head towards the stairs.

Mokuba's smile dropped as he turned back toward the other boy.

"Oh, that's my friend Kenta," he stated, "His sister hasn't come to get him yet. She's usually one of the first people here, but she didn't show up today." He looked up to his big brother, not hiding the sadness in his eyes. "I was worried about him. I don't think we should leave him here by himself. There are a lot of thugs that come around after school."

Seto saw the concern in his younger brother's eyes and sighed.

"Fine," he said, "we'll stay until his sister comes."

Mokuba's face was lit by another grin, and he hugged the older Kaiba.

"You're the best big bro!" he exclaimed happily.

Mokuba raced back over to Kenta, while his brother followed at a slow walk. Mokuba sat back down next to the other boy, and went back to talking to him, telling him not to worry, and that his sister would come soon. Seto glanced over at the two boys. Despite his younger brother's encouraging words, Kenta's eyes were still filled with sadness, and he buried his head in his arms.

"Kenta!"

A loud cry came from across the street. All three of the boys looked up and saw a girl with shoulder-length brown hair waving at them, or more specifically Kenta, as she ran towards them.

"Ari!" Kenta cried back, running to meet his sister. He buried his head in her shoulder as she kneeled down so she was level to him. She returned the embrace with just as much force, if not more.

"Why were you so late?" he said, looking at her with tear-filled eyes, "I was really worried y-you weren't g-g-gonna show up!" he said between sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Kenta," Ari replied, "I couldn't get out of work today. I'm sorry"

Kenta hugged his sister even tighter.

"It's okay," he replied, "I'm just glad you came!"

Mokuba and Seto watched this from the background. Mokuba sighed with relief. He looked up to his older brother, only to find that his brother was staring at Ari, an unreadable look on his face.

"Hey, Seto?"

Quickly regaining his composure, Seto turned and began to walk towards the car. Mokuba grabbed his backpack off the stairs and ran after him. His brother's strange behavior was worrying him.

They got into the car, and drove off. Seto glanced out the window at Ari and Kenta as they began their walk home. He focused on the girl's face for a moment, but then looked away.

As the car went further down the street, the conversation between the brothers remained nonexistant. Mokuba wondered why his older brother had been acting so strange since he had seen Kenta's sister.

"Hey, Mokuba?"

He was startled by the sudden break of silence.

"Yeah, Seto?"

"Does your friend live with his sister?" he asked.

"Yes," Mokuba replied, slightly suspicious as to why his brother would want to know about his friend's family.

"Where are their parents?"

Mokuba sighed sadly.

"Their parents are dead," he replied, "Kenta said they died about three years ago. He and Ari were bounced around to several different foster homes, but as soon as Ari turned 18, they got a place of their own. Apparently it's really small and run down, but it's all they can afford right now. Ari's been trying to find a good job, but she can't seem to find one that suits her well. She just got a new job a little while ago, but Kenta hasn't said anything about it."

He paused and looked up at his brother, but Seto was apparently deep in thought now. Mokuba sighed and returned to staring out the window at the passing buildings.

Seto was completely lost in his thoughts.

_So that's why she's been leaving early, _he thought.

--Earlier that day--

_Ari tentatively knocked on the door of his office._

_"Um, you wanted to see me, Mr. Kaiba?" she asked._

_Seto turned his attention to the girl who was now standing in front of his desk. He stared at her with the same, cold indifference that he regarded all his employees with._

_"It has come to my attention that since you started working here two weeks ago, you've left before your shift is over every day."_

_"But sir, I can explain-"_

_He glared at her, his eyes cold._

_"I will not allow this to continue. Either you stay and finish your shift, or you can find somewhere else to work. Do I make myself clear?"_

_Ari struggled for a minute, thinking frantically if there was any way around this. Finally, she sighed, defeated._

_"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."_

_"Good," he said, "You may leave."_

_Ari left the room silently, her head hanging slightly._

--End Flashback--

Seto felt like a complete jerk. She had only been leaving early so she could pick up her little brother. She was the only family he had, after all, and he was counting on her to be there for him. Seto felt like groaning at his own stupidity, but Mokuba was in the car, so he kept the urge under control.

He mentally sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time in the past half hour. He would have to talk to Ari again tomorrow, and tell her it was okay for her to leave early, if it was to pick up her brother. Family ties were very important, as Seto knew. If it hadn't been for Mokuba, he might not have gotten to where he was. He might have died from loneliness in his younger days. Even when times were hard, he knew his little brother was counting on him, so he kept going.

Yes, he'd have to talk to Ari again tomorrow.

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_Okay, I know, it was short, but I just wanted to kind of set up the plot for you. So, please review and if you have any suggestions or requests, let me know and I'll see if I can work them into the story. Once again, please no flames. I might go emo sniffle. Lol, anyway, tell me what you think so far so I can decide if I make an okay writer. Talk to you peeps later!_


	2. A Day in the Life

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, okay, I know I just posted my first chapter earlier this morning, but I was just itching to get back to writing. I am just so excited about this story and I can't wait to see what people think about it._

_Anyway, I did receive one review today from Sakurelle. This is what it said:_

"This was a nice chapter, the story looks quite promising so far. Please update soon! "

_As my first review ever, this was an awesome confidence booster. Sakurelle is now officially my new bestest friend. X3_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_So now, onto the story!_

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**Chapter 2**

Kenta gripped his sister's hand tightly as they walked towards their house. He had nearly panicked when she hadn't shown up on time. He had been worried that she had somehow been hurt on her way over, and the thought alone was enough to make him start to tear up. If anything ever happened to her, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. She was the only family he had, and without her, he would be alone in the world.

So, if she hadn't been hurt, why had she been late? Kenta pondered this as they finally reached their small apartment. Ari dug in her pocket until she found her key and unlocked the door.

She turned to Kenta and smiled. "Alright, kiddo," she said brightly, "We're home."

Kenta followed her example and took off his shoes, setting them on the worn out mat by the door. He also set down his backpack by the door as well, sighing with relief as the weight was removed from his tired shoulders. He gazed around at the little house. The living room was barely there, just big enough to fit an old couch. Unlike in most homes, there was no TV; they just couldn't afford that luxury. Ari made her way to the kitchen, opening the cabinets to see what she could make for dinner. There wasn't that much, and she would need to go shopping soon.

_Not like that'll make a big difference, _she thought, _but it's better than nothing._

"Hey, Kenta!" she called out to him. "What do you say to some macaroni-and-cheese and hot dogs?"

He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Its surface had several scratches and scuffs, evidence of years of use.

"Sounds good sis," he replied.

Ari nodded her head, smiling at her little brother, then turned her attention to gathering the cooking utensils: a small pot, an old pasta strainer, and one of the few spoons they actually had. Kenta bit his bottom lip worriedly, then mentally took a deep breath.

"Hey, Ari?" he asked tentatively, "Why were you late picking me up today?"

She paused, and sighing, set the box of macaroni down. She turned and sat down across the table from him, running one of her hands through her hair. For the first time that day, Kenta noticed how tired she looked, her eyes reflecting her exhaustion.

"My boss called me up to his office today," she said wearily, "I can't leave early anymore, which means I won't be there right away to pick you up." She looked up and saw the fear in her little brother's eyes.

"Kenta, it's going to be okay," she said, reaching across the wooden expanse to grasp his hand lightly, "All it means is that you'll be at school a little while longer than you're used to-"

"But what if those neighborhood thugs come around!" he said, beginning to panick again, "If I'm still there and they come around they might beat me up or something!"

Ari was prepared for this.

"Don't worry," she said calmly, "What I want you to do is wait in the main office until I can get there. Those jerks wouldn't dare go into the school, so you'll be safe."

Kenta silently contemplated what she had said. She was right; while the thugs would pick on anyone who happened to catch their eyes, they wouldn't dare to actually enter the school. He would be safe, protected, until she could get there. He took a deep breath, fighting back the tears that had threatened to fall from his brown eyes. Looking up at Ari, he smiled reassuringly.

"You're right, sis," he finally said, "I'll be okay, so don't worry about not being able to pick me up right away."

She sighed with relief, then chuckled slightly, ruffling his hair. Kenta frowned.

"What's so funny?"

Ari chuckled again. "For a fourteen-year-old, you sure do act like a baby sometimes," she teased.

His frown deepened. "I am not a baby!" he pouted.

Ari smiled. "Whatever you say, little bro, whatever you say."

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Ari walked into Kenta's small room as he crawled into his even smaller bed. She looked sadly upon the room which seemed to be falling apart before her very eyes, the beat up curtains, one which had a rip in it, the section of wall where some of the paint had begun to peel. She mentally noted that soon the bed would be too small for him, and that she would have to start saving up for a new one.

_Along with all the other stuff we need, _she thought bitterly.

She shook her head to clear the negative thoughts from her head.

"Alrighty, I'll see you in the morning buddy," she said as she kissed his forehead lightly.

Kenta scrunched up his face in protest. "That's gross, sis. Come on, I mean, I'm in ninth grade! Stop treating me like a little kid!"

Ari just smiled softly. "I love you Kenta."

She turned and walked to the door, flipping the night switch off. As she began to shut the door, she was stopped by a soft voice.

"I love you too, sis," Kenta replied sleepily.

Ari smiled again. "Good night," she whispered as she closed the door.

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Once in her room, Ari realized how truly exhausted she was. It was no easy task, walking to Kenta's school in the morning, then to the Kaiba Corp building, and then back again, day after day. She was barely able to stay awake long enough to change her clothes. As soon as she had put on a long t-shirt, followed by a pair of sweatpants, she collapsed onto her own bed, which was barely large enough for her. She groaned as she rolled over to turn out the lamp on her nightstand. She rolled back onto her stomach, and before she could even get under the covers, she was fast asleep.

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_Okay, I thought it would be a good idea to kind of show the lifestyle that Ari and Kenta have. It helps you to understand how really troubled their lives are, and it will help you to understand more stuff later on in the story. _

_Anyway, Seto is going to show up again in the next chapter. I am probably not going to be able to post until the weekend at the soonest, because I have finals next week so this week is gonna be non-stop studying. _

_Remember, please review, no flames, helpful criticism and suggestions welcome, and I'll talk to you all later!_


	3. Waking Nightmare, New Day

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay folks, this is the Twilight Imp, here with yet another chapter._

_I have been getting nothing but positive feedback on this story, and it truly gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Granted, one of the reviewers is my friend from school, and she knows that if she doesn't give me a good review, an unfortunate accident might happen to her...involving slippery stairs...and metal spikes...lots of metal spikes. Lol, no I'm just kidding, that was my psychotic moment for the day!_

_I might start adding titles to the chapters soon, just to let you know._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Alright, well that just about sums up my rant for the day, so onto the story!!!_

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**Chapter 3**

_Everything was dark. Pitch black in fact. Ari just seemed to float in the darkness that surrounded her._

_Suddenly, her feet hit something solid. The entire black expanse lit up, revealing a beautiful scene. A magnificent house sat behind a rather large front lawn. Flowers sat in the boxes below each window, swaying gently in the breeze. The whole area seemed to radiate serenity. Everything felt so peaceful, so right, and Ari just smiled._

_But then two children raced across the yard. Ari's smile dropped from her face as quickly as a boulder dropped to the bottom of a kiddie pool._

_"No," she whispered, horrified._

_She raced after the two children, a girl with long brown hair and green-grey eyes, and a boy with short brown hair and eyes to match. Both laughed as they ran towards the house. Ari's heart clenched tightly._

_"Mom! Dad!" the boy yelled as they entered the building. "We're home!"_

_There was no reply. The boy frowned a little._

_"That's weird," he muttered._

_"Aw, what's wrong with you?" the girl asked mockingly._

_"Usually mom and dad come out and greet us when we get home. But they didn't come."_

_The girl punched him lightly in the arm. "Come on, bro! Their probably just up in their room. And you know that room is practically sound-proof."_

_The boy's frown disappeared and he laughed again. _

_"Yeah, you're probably right, sis!" _

_The girl smiled mischeviously as she looked at her brother._

_"Betcha I can beat you up there!"_

_"Betcha you can't!"_

_Both of them raced towards the stairs. Ari's heart dropped even further as she followed them. The girl pushed the boy out of her way just in time to take the lead on the stairs. Both of them were laughing so hard, it was a miracle they didn't suffocate. They raced down the hall to the door on the end, and the girl flung the door open._

_Her laughter ceased._

_The walls had streaks of blood on them. There were several small pools of it on the floor. On the bed lay two figures, a man and a woman. Both were covered in long slashes, and both had blood covering them. The boy finally caught up to his sister._

_"Hey, sis!" he said, bending over to catch his breath, "You okay? You seem a little out-"_

_He cut off as he lifted his head to the gruesome scene before him. His eyes widened with absolute horror._

_Tears were streaming down Ari's face as she held her hands over her mouth, trying to supress the sobs welling up in her throat. She had revisited this scene so many times before, but the shock of it all never decreased._

_Knowing what was coming next, she took her hands off of her mouth to cover her ears as the girl in front of her let out a heartbreaking scream._

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Ari sat straight up in her bed, gasping for breath. Her entire body was covered in sweat, and the tears that had been running down her face in the dream were still falling. Trembling as the memory faded, Ari brought her knees to her chest, resting her forehead against them as she curled her arms around her legs. She hated that dream, hated seeing what she had seen that say three years ago. Hated the memory of the day when she lost her innocence, and was brought to terms with the fact that the world could be a cold, cruel place.

Finally, the tears stopped falling. Ari sighed in relief as she pushed the last remnants of the dream from her mind. She lifted her head and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand.

She groaned.

It was only 5:30. She would never be able to get back to sleep, and she had lost half an hour of precious rest. Sighing, she rolled out of bed. Grabbing some clothes, she headed for the door, determined to get a nice hot, shower to remove the sweat that covered her. She stopped as she passed a small shelf on the wall. On it sat a small picture frame, which, compared to everything else in the house, was in very good condition. Ari traced her fingers along the edge of it lovingly, gazing at the photo sadly. In it were the girl and boy from her dream, being embraced lovingly by the man and woman. All their faces simply glowed with happiness, and Ari couldn't help but smile sadly.

Sighing again, she removed her hand and continued down the hall to the bathroom. Once in the cramped confines, she turned the tap, hoping that there would be some hot water. She was rewarded, and the small bathroom began to fill with steam. Removing her clothes, she stepped under the falling water. She nearly hummed with delight as the warm water washed away all her tension, rinsing away the sweat that had accumulated on her body. She quickly scrubbed herself off, then regretfully turned off the water. Getting out, she dried herself off with one of her ragged pink towels.

Ari walked out of the small bathroom, fully dressed. She threw her dirty clothes in the small hamper by her door. Glancing at her clock again, she saw it was now six. She walked down the hall and quietly opened Kenta's door. She walked over to his bed, where the only thing visible was a large lump under the blankets.

"Kenta," she said softly, gently shaking him.

He groaned and rolled over. "Five more minutes," he mumbled sleepily.

"Five minutes to you is like an hour to us normal people, so get up, you lazy freak!" Ari said gleefully.

Kenta shot up. "I am not a freak!" he growled.

"Well then, now that you're up," she replied cheerily, "you might as well get dressed, huh?"

She dodged the pillow he threw at her as she ran out of the room, giggling delightedly.

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Seto paced back and forth restlessly in his office.

_Damn it! _he thought to himself.

He had been trying to think of how to tell Ari about changing his mind. How would he tell her that it was okay for her to leave early and pick up her little brother, without making himself look like a sap for little family moments.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why is this so hard to figure out?!"

Seto was, for once in his life, stumped. Closing a business deal with a bunch of money-grubbing investors? No problem! But apologizing to someone, especially one of his employees? He wasn't sure he could do it.

He sighed, exasperated, as he collapsed into the chair behind his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't stay down for long, though, and soon resumed his pacing. Back and forth he went over the dark blue carpet, from white wall to white wall and back again. He stopped suddenly, and picked up the picture of he and Mokuba that he always kept on his desk. He smiled, looking at at Mokuba's smiling face. He had been able to convince Seto to get in the picture with him, but the older Kaiba had still refused to smile at all when it was taken.

He set the picture down, and finally made up his mind. No matter how hard it was, he had to find a way to apologize to Ari.

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"Good morning, Kichi!" Ari said to the receptionist as she walked into the Kaiba Corp building.

Kichi smiled at the girl. "Good morning to you, too!"

Ari walked down the long white hallway until she reached the elevators. She pressed the button and waited until the the steel doors slid open, and she stepped through them. She pressed the button for the 12th floor. She stood patiently as the metal box rose, until the doors slid open once again. She stepped into the room, which was practically overflowing with electronic equipment. She walked past several other stations where other employees sat, diligently typing on their computers.

She finally reached her station and sat down, smiling at the picture she had of Kenta. It has been taken about a year ago, down at the park in the middle of the city. Kenta was proudly holding up the fish he had caught in the pond.

Ari turned her attention back to her computer. She pressed the power button and the screen began to glow, lighting up and displaying the Kaiba Corp logo. She typed in her access code and the computer finally switched over to her screen. A small icon was blinking in the lower right corner, telling her she had an e-mail. She clicked on the blinking symbol, and the e-mail opened up.

She read it and barely supressed a groan.

The e-mail was from Seto Kaiba, and he wanted to see her in his office as soon as possible.

_What did I do this time? _she wondered.

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_Alrighty well I figured that was a pretty good place to stop for now. I kinda left it hanging there, just to build up a little suspense, and I haven't exactly figured out how I want the scene between Seto and Ari to go, so I need time to think and plan. _

_Remember, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome, and I could really use a little help. Anyway, talk to you all soon!_


	4. Apology

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Alright, I'm back with yet another chapter of my ever so awesome story. I would have had this chapter up sooner, but I was having some trouble figuring out how I wanted the next scene to go. Once again, I got some awesome advice from Sakurelle. Thanks again, buddy o'mine!_

_So, here's a quick recap of the last chapter: Kaiba was in his office trying to figure out how to apologize to Ari, without really apologizing. Ari got to work, and found that she had an e-mail telling her she was wanted up in Kaiba's office as soon as she got the message. This is going to get kind of interesting, isn't it? Lol!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Okay, folks, now it's time to find out what's going to happen next!_

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**Chapter 4**

Ari clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly as she walked down the hall towards the elevators once more. Her palms were sweaty and she was barely able to keep herself from panicking.

When she finally reached the elevators again, she pressed the call button with a trembling finger. As she waited, she once again began to wonder why Mr. Kaiba would want to see her again so soon. She hadn't been planning on leaving early, after all she had told him she wouldn't, and she always kept her word. She couldn't think of anything else she'd done that might have angered him.

She jumped with surprise as the elevator doors opened. Still lost in thought, she stepped through the opening and pressed the button for the top floor. She was trembling as the elevator slowly ascended.

_I can't lose this job, _she thought, _I can't lose this job. I need this job. _

Her head filled with images of what could happen if she got fired.

She might not be able to get another job.

She wouldn't be able to able to make enough money to support herself and Kenta.

They would both end up on the streets.

Kenta could end up dead.

Ari paled at this thought. She couldn't lose another member of her family. She would absolutely shatter. Her world would be gone forever.

She shook these dark thoughts from her head. She couldn't just lose faith like that. If she had given up like that when her parents were killed, she wouldn't be even remotely close to where she had gotten.

As the doors opened again, she took a deep breath, mentally bracing herself as she stepped into the long hallway that led to Mr. Kaiba's office. She walked towards the large oak door briskly, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, whether the outcome be bad or good.

When she reached the door, she raised her clenched fist up to knock, hesitating for only a second. Shaking her head firmly, she knocked on the door tentatively. For a moment, there was nothing but silence from the other side. Then, a cold voice answered.

"Come in."

Ari opened the door and slid into the office quietly.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Seto turned his chair around to look at her. He instantly felt a little guilty. Though she was obviously trying to hide it, she was definitely scared. Her face was pale, and as he watched, a single drop of sweat slid down the side of her face.

Steeling himself once again, he gave her a mild glare. He got up from his chair and walked over to the window, looking out over Domino City.

Ari, meanwhile, was definitely a nervous wreck. Despite her efforts, she could not keep out the negative thoughts that had plagued her in the elevator. And to make matters worse, her boss still hadn't said a word. Her nerves were very close to the breaking point.

Suddenly, his voice broke through her scattered thoughts and called her back to reality.

"I understand you have a little brother," he said mildly.

Ari started. How could he possibly know about Kenta?

Seeing his glare settle on her once again, she calmed herself down enough to answer.

"Um, y-yes, I do have one younger brother," she managed to stutter.

"I also understand that the reason you have been leaving work early was because you were picking him up from school," he stated simply, raising an eyebrow at her startled expression, "Am I right?"

Ari was absolutely flabbergasted.

"H-how did you know about that?!" she gasped finally.

"Does it really matter?" he asked.

She stood there, mouth agape, just staring in shock.

Seto sighed. "If you must know," he told her, "I have a little brother as well. He goes to the same school as your brother does. His name is Kenta, right?"

Unable to speak, Ari just nodded.

"I also know that you two are the only family the other has, correct?"

He instantly regretted bringing it up. Ari clamped her mouth shut and lowered her face, but not in time to stop Seto from seeing the flash of sorrow and pain in her eyes.

"Anyway," he continued, "Seeing as you are-"

He stopped for a moment, considering what he had planned to say

"-his legal guardian, and must be there to pick him up from school, I have reconsidered my decision about your leaving early."

Ari looked up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, showing through the remaining sorrow.

Seto took a deep breath. "If it is to pick up your little brother, then I will allow you to leave early."

Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open once again.

"You...you really..."

Ari struggled to get the words out. It seemed as if all the air that once filled her lungs had just disappeared, rendering her unable to breathe, let alone speak.

"You really mean it?" she finally managed to ask.

He glared at her. "Of course I meant it!" he exclaimed, "Why would I say something if I didn't mean it?! Insolent girl," he muttered, glancing out of the window.

When he looked back up at Ari, he found that she was bowing, bent at almost a ninety degree angle.

"T-thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Kaiba! I am truly and utterly grateful!"

Seto was too shocked to say anything. For a few minutes, he just sat there, staring at her in stunned silence. He saw her begin to rise and he quickly changed his face back to its usual emotionless mask.

He could now see that she was openly smiling at him. He glared at her once more.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Oh," she began, her smile faltering a little, "I am sorry, Mr. Kaiba," she bowed once more. "I will get back to my work now, sir."

Ari turned and headed for the door. Before she could walk out, though, Seto spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

She halted, very confused. She thought she had heard Seto Kaiba, one of the most respected and well-known men in the corporate industry, just apologize to her. But that couldn't have been the case. She turned back towards him, a questioning look on her face, just to find him glaring at her again.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked, "Get back to work."

Ari let out a small squeak and scampered out of the room.

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Finally sure that she was gone, Seto blew out a long breath. That had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do. But, surprisingly, it had felt..._good._ The look of absolute joy on her face had made it all worth it. She had looked so happy, which was definitely better than the sorrow he had seen briefly. And her smile. She had looked so much better with a smile on her face. She had looked cute, even-

_Wait a minute, _he said to himself, startled at his own thoughts, _How could I possibly think about someone like that, especially someone who works for me?_

He shook the thought from his head. He knew he couldn't possibly thought of something like that. At least now, he wouldn't have to worry about talking to her about something so personal with her again.

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Ari literally ran back to the elevators doors just managing to contain herself until the doors openend and she was inside once more. Now in a place where no one else could hear her, she began to laugh with joy. She leaned against the wall and slowly sank down to the floor, still laughing. Finally, she had to stop to take in a few deep breaths. She composed herself as the elevator descended even further. She took a few more deep breaths in an attempt to slow her rapidly beating heart. She stood up, straightening her clothes and hair just in time. The doors opened to reveal another young woman, undoubtedly on her way to work.

Even though she tried, Ari could not conceal all the signs of her joy. A small but powerful smile remained on her face, and this did not go unnoticed by the other woman. She was surprised that the girl in front of her looked so happy. The elevator had just come down from the top floor, the office of Mr. Kaiba himself. In a best case scenario, people would come down looking frightened. In a worst case scenario, they would come down in tears. Never had anyone come down looking as happy as this girl did.

Ari quickly exited the elevator as the other woman entered. She hadn't felt this good in a long time. And it was an exhilarating experience.

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_Phew! Alright, that may have actually been my longest chapter, and it was definitely one of the best yet!!! So, remember, please leave a review, suggestion, or some constructive criticism. Everything but flames are accepted._

_Talk to you peeps later!!_


	5. Small Talk

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Ok, I just finished up chapter 4 last night, and I've only gotten like 2 hours of sleep, so I am really tired right now._

_I really liked how the last scene between Kaiba and Ari worked out. Once again, some of the credit goes to my buddy Sakurelle. I swear, I was seriously stuck with getting Kaiba to apologize, because as we all know, apologizing is not his strong point. Lol, silly Kaiba!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Now, onto the story!!!_

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**Chapter 5**

Ari smiled as she looked at the clock. It was about time to leave and pick up Kenta. She gathered together the stray papers that lay on her desk, slipping them into her shoulder bag. Hoisting it up onto her left shoulder, Ari shut down her computer, and made for the door. As she walked past the other stations, a voice near the end of the row sounded.

"Ari, Mr, Kaiba is gonna be seriously ticked off if you keep leaving early," said a young man, maybe one or two years older than Ari herself.

Ari smiled at him as she gripped the door. "He won't be ticked off," she stated simply. "He gave me permission to leave early."

Before the man could utter a reply, Ari was already out the door.

"See you later, Kanaye!" she shouted back.

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After Ari had left, Seto had simply gone back to his work as though nothing had happened. He focused solely on his laptop, once again typing non-stop.

Glancing up the clock, he noticed that it was almost time for Mokuba's school to let out. It wouldn't hurt him to be on time at least once. No, it wouldn't hurt at all. With new resolve, he closed his laptop, and walked out of his office to the elevators.

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Ari pressed the call button for the elevator for what felt like the millionth time that day. As she waited for the doors to slide open, she thought about how thrilled Kenta would be when he heard that he wouldn't have to wait at school by himself. Even if he did stay safe by waiting inside the school, the walk home got more dangerous the later it got. Ari closed her eyes as she shivered at the thought of walking down the dark streets at night.

She heard the elevator come to a stop and the doors opened. Sighing, Ari opened her eyes again. She froze.

In the elevator, leaning against the wall, was Seto Kaiba himself. Ari gasped. No matter how many times she saw him, she was always shocked by his ever-commanding prescence. While she stood staring at him, he stared back.

"Well," he finally said. "Are you going to get in, or do you plan to wait for the next one?"

Realizing what he was saying, Ari quickly stepped into the elevator. The doors closed, leaving her alone with Seto. Fortunately, she was able to mask her emotions almost completely, and the only thing that revealed her nervousness was her slightly widened eyes. Seto noticed this, and felt a little bad that he was still scaring her. He decided to make an attempt at queling her fears.

"So, how old is your little brother?" he asked tentatively, fortunately able to keep his voice steady.

Ari jumped a little at his voice. _Is he trying to make small talk? _she thought. "Um, he's about 14," she finally replied.

"Oh." It fell silent once again. Both of them stood there, unable to say anything.

Relief flooded over Ari as the elevator doors opened once again.

"Well, I-I have to get going," she said, bowing to him once again. "Please excuse me, sir."

"You're going to pick up your little brother from school." It was more of a statement then a question. Ari stood up to look him in the face.

"Yes, actually, I am," she replied. But why had he asked her that. He already knew that picking up her brother was her only reason for leaving early. Did he just not trust her?

"I'm on my way to pick up Mokuba from school as well," he stated as he turned towards the door and began to walk away. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

Ari couldn't move. She was frozen in place. She couldn't have heard him say what she thought he had said. He was her Seto Kaiba, the CEO of one of the _biggest_ companies in the world, not to mention he was her _boss_! He couldn't have possibly just offered her a ride. Still, he had to have done it, because he was standing in the doorway, watching her impatiently.

"Umm, t-t-thank you, sir!" She quickly followed him out the door and through the parking lot to his car. He unlocked the doors and got into the driver's seat. Ari hesitated, but opened the side door and got in as well. As they pulled out of the lot and began the drive towards the school, the silence still remained. Ari kept glancing over at Seto, but he was focusing only on the road in front of him. She, resigned to looking out of the window. They passed several buildings that Ari recognized. After all, she walked by them almost every morning and afternoon, on her way to and from work.

While she stared out the window, she was oblivious to the fact that Seto was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He watched as the look of anxiety that had been on her face since she had seen him in the elevator disappeared. It was replaced by a peaceful, almost relaxed look. When he had seen her come to pick up Kenta, she didn't come in a car, so he guessed that she didn't have one. _I guess she walks everywhere,_ he thought to himself. _She must not get to relax like this that often. _He returned his focus to the road.

A few moments later, they pulled into the school parking lot once more. Since they were earlier than usual, there were still a lot of kids hanging out in the front of the building. Seto and Ari got out of the car and began scanning the small crowd for their little brothers. Ari spotted Kenta first. He was once again by the stairs, keeping close to the door in case he had to make a quick escape. He was busy talking to another young boy with long, blackish-brown hair, and for once, he seemed to be truly enjoying himself. Ari smiled.

"Kenta!" she called out to him, waving her arm above her head to catch his attention. He spotted her, and began to run over towards her. The other boy followed him.

"Hey, sis!" he said as he finally reached her.

"Hey, kiddo!" she replied as she hugged him enthusiastically. "Who's your friend?"

The other boy stepped closer. "My name's Mokuba Kaiba. It's nice to meet you!"

Ari was left speechless. She looked over her shoulder at Seto as she pointed at Mokuba. "This is your little brother?" she squeaked out.

"Yes, Mokuba is my little brother," he replied evenly.

Mokuba looked up at her, head cocked to one side. "How do you know my big brother?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, um, I work at his company," she said, scratching the back of her head in embarassment. "I was on my way out to pick up Kenta, and he offered me a ride."

"Oh, that would explain why you were in his car," the young Kaiba replied cheerfully.

Ari laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess it would."

Kenta looked at her curiously. _Wonder why she's blushing, _he thought. He quickly shrugged the thought off.

"So, Ari, are we gonna head home now?"

"Yeah, we're going to go now," she told him reassuringly.

"Since I'm already here," Seto cut in, "Why don't I just give you both a ride home?"

"No, I don't want to be any more of a burden," Ari replied quickly.

Seto sighed. "It's no trouble. It's right by here anyway, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well," he said, reopening his door, "Get in then."

Before she could reply, Seto, Mokuba, and even Kenta had climbed into the car. Seeing she was obviously defeated, she climbed back into the passenger seat, and buckled herself in once more.

They drove out onto the street, Kenta and Mokuba happily chatting away in the back seat. Ari smiled. She was glad that he had made a good friend. He never talked about his school life, and she worried that he was picked on for his quiet nature.

As they got closer and closer to Ari and Kenta's house, Ari got more and more nervous. Seeing as he was filthy rich, Seto was probably used to a big mansion, on private property, not a little two-bedroom apartment in a dingy neighborhood. Lost in her own thoughts, Ari didn't even hear Kenta giving Seto directions.

When they pulled up next to the building, Ari was blushing with embarrassment again.

"Hey, Ari?"

Kenta's voice broke through her scattered thoughts. "Yeah?"

"Can Mokuba come up so I can show him some of my stuff, please?"

Ari turned around, prepared to say no, but Kenta was prepared for this, and had armed himself with the almighty puppy eyes. Ari sighed.

"Alright, alright," she groaned as she got out of the car. She paused for a minute. "Um, would you like to come up, too?" she asked Seto.

He grunted. "Well if Mokuba is going up, I'd better go up, too. Otherwise, he'll never come down."

Ari led the way up the stairs and unlocked the door. As soon as she had opened it, the two boys ran in, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"Kenta!" she yelled. "Take off the shoes!"

"Sorry, sis!" he called back. The boys' laughter carried down the hall, once again bringing a smile to Ari's face. Then she realized that she and Seto were once again alone, more or less.

"Um, would you like something to drink, Mr. Kaiba?"

"If it's not any trouble," he replied bluntly.

"Okay, the kitchen is this way."

She searched the cupboards for a cup that was in decent condition, and found one of her father's old glasses. She set it down lovingly on the counter, and opened up the fridge.

"Okay, we have some orange juice, some milk, and some water."

"Water will be fine."

She pulled out the almost empty jug, emptied the rest of its contents into the glass, and handed it to Seto.

"Thank you." He took a small sip and set it back down. "So, how long have you and Kenta lived here?" he asked.

"We moved in about six months ago, when I turned eighteen," she replied. "Our parents were ki-"

She faltered, and then gulped, as if trying to hold back a sob.

"Our parents died when I was fifteen and Kenta was eleven. For a while, we were just bounced around to a bunch of different group homes, but as soon as I was old enough to legally live on my own, I got a place and took on being Kenta's legal guardian."

Seto took all of this information in. Even though he had heard it all from Mokuba, hearing it from Ari, who had actually experienced it, it seemed as though the words had more of an impact. As he opened his mouth to ask another question, Mokuba and Kenta suddenly appeared at his side.

"Hey, Seto? Since it's Friday and all, could Kenta spend the night at our house? Please?"

Seto glanced at Kenta, then back at his brother. "If it's all right with his sister, then it's all right with me."

"Can I, sis? Can I? Please?!" He once again used the puppy dog eyes.

Ari bit her lip. "I guess it's okay."

Both boys jumped into the air, shouting with glee. Ari laughed. "Alright, alright, settle down, the neighbors will start complaining if you keep that up! Kenta, go pack a bag for the night. And don't forget your toothbrush!" she yelled at his retreating back. She turned to face Seto again.

"Mr. Kaiba, I can't thank you enough for letting Kenta stay over. I can't remember the last time he had a friend." She let a wide smile grace her face.

Seto looked away, a very faint blush on his cheeks. "It's no trouble. It's good for Mokuba to associate with other kids his own age."

As if on cue, the two boys appeared in the room again. "Alright, we're ready to go!" they said in unison.

Seto got up from his chair. "Well, we'd better get going then." He nodded at Ari. "I'll see you at work on Monday."

With that, all three of them walked out of the door. Ari walked over, watching them as they got into the car once more. Before he had climbed all the way in, Kenta looked up at her and, smiling, waved up her. She smiled, too, and waved back at him. She watched the car until it had driven out of sight.

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_Gasp Finally I'm done. This chapter took even more thinking then the last one, lol. _

_I can't wait until I get further on in the plot. I already have some ideas for some future chapters, but there's a lot to fill in before I can write them._

_Anyway, please review, and I'll talk to you soon._


	6. The Other Side

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, I'm back with yet another chapter of your favorite fanfiction!_

_Before I begin, I have a concern I'd like to address. I recently got a review, and all it was was a flippin' little smiley face thing!!!! What the hell?! If your going to leave a review, make it an actual review, not just some stupid little face, or something just saying 'update soon.' At least say your opinion about the story if your going to leave a review!!! God!!!!_

_Another thing I'd like to talk about is colors. In my story, most of the things in Kaiba's life are blue and white. I mean seriously, has anyone ever seen him wear anything but his blue coat or his white coat during the series (not including his past life)? So no complaints, because the colors will change later on, so just bear with me for now._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Anyway, back to the story._

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**Chapter 6**

Mokuba and Kenta were having the time of their lives. They had started out the night in the large game room of the Kaiba mansion. It had a pinball machine, air hockey, and many more. Then, when it started getting late, they went to hang out in Mokuba's bedroom. There was a giant walk in closet, and several bins of toys, games, and movies. They had occupied themselves by playing Duel Monsters for a while, and then went on to watch a few movies while they relaxed on Mokuba's rather large bed. It had a large canopy overhead, and the bedposts were carved in the shape of heads of Blue Eyes White Dragons, curved downward gracefully, as if to watch over the bed's occupant as they slept. Sprawled on top of the red comforter, with pillows to match, they talked almost non-stop as the movie played. Kenta hadn't had this much fun in years. It reminded him of the nights that he, Ari, and their parents would just sit around, playing games, laughing with joy.

Finally, the movie stopped, and Mokuba turned off the T.V. "So, Kenta," he said as he propped himself up on his elbows, "I know it's kind of a touchy subject, but, um..." He struggled to find the right words. "What actually happened to your parents? I mean, you told me they died, but, how did it happen? Did they get some fatal disease or something?"

Kenta's eyes filled with sadness. He had never told anyone what he and Ari had seen that day. When the police had done their investigation, it was Ari who had told them what they had discovered, and she had barely been able to get through it all without breaking down completely.

"I...I...," Kenta couldn't quite get the words out. "I can't...I can't tell you. It's too hard. I just can't, Mokuba!" He was beginning to panic.

"Kenta, it's okay! You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to! The last thing I wanted to do was make you upset while you're here!"

Kenta shook his head. "I know. I know you didn't want to get me all upset. It's just-" He gulped down the lump that was rising in his throat. "-It's really hard to talk about is all." He paused for a minute, sifting through his distressed mind. "I can tell you one thing. My parents...they didn't just die, they...they were murdered." Kenta could no longer keep the tears from streaming down his face, though they streamed in silence.

Mokuba was realing from this confession. He had never imagined that someone had actually killed his friend's parents. He knew that Kenta must have been having trouble getting through each day with such an enormous burden weighing on his mind. But somehow, he always managed to smile every day, even at the smallest things. Feeling tears welling up in his own eyes, he shook his head to clear them away. Sitting up, he scooted forward and embraced Kenta tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, feeling Kenta's body shake with supressed sobs. "I'm so sorry."

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Unbeknownst to both boys, Seto had also heard the conversation. He had been coming down the hall to check on them, but paused when he heard Mokuba ask Kenta about his parents. He had been just as shocked as Mokuba, if not more. When he heard Mokuba start trying to calm Kenta back down, he decided it was best that he leave them both alone. He walked silently back down the endless white hallway to his room. Shedding his long white coat, he dropped onto his bed, which, except for the dark blue color of its sheets, was not unlike Mokuba's in that it also had the Blue Eyes heads carved at the end of its posts. He set his arm across his eyes, blocking out the light from the overhead fan.

He briefly remembered the conversation he had had with Ari earlier that day, how she had faltered before saying her and Kenta's parents had died. He, just like Mokuba, had figured that they had gotten sick and passed away, but he never even considered that someone might have murdered them. How could both of them carry such a burden? Even though he and Mokuba's real parents had died, they had both been younger than Kenta had been, so the full force of it didn't hit them.

Groaning, Seto sat up. He couldn't go to bed wearing the same clothes he had been wearing all day. He walked over to his dresser which, despite the intricacy of the bed, and even the computer desk next to it, was actually quite plain. Kaiba tugged off his clothes, tossing them into his hamper, and put on a comfortable pair of sweatpants, leaving his chest bare.

He laid back down, crossing his arms behind his head, and let his thoughts lull him to sleep.

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Seto was called into the office early the next morning. He took the time to slip a brief not under Mokuba's door, telling him to make sure and call Ari to give her directions to pick up Kenta later that day, and then raced off.

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Ari stood at the gates of the Kaiba mansion, gaping in awe at its enormous size. She had seen some nice houses before, but this one blew them all out of the water. The collossal size of the building only added to the beauty of the surrounding grounds. There were vast amounts of flowers and shrubs around the base of it, and there was a beautiful fountain right in front of the door. Even after she had been standing there for several minutes, the initial shock had still not worn off. She just stood there, staring, her jaw hanging open.

Finally, she worked up the nerve to press the intercom call button. A few minuted later, a voice replied through the speaker.

"May I help you?"

Ari cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm here to pick up my little brother. He spent the night with Mokuba."

"Ah, yes," the voice replied. "Please, come in."

The metal gates swung open and Ari walked in tentatively, feeling like she was trespassing. She felt so plain, so out of place, surrounded by so much beauty. She crossed to the giant oak doors, and before she could knock, they swung open. An old man with grey hair and a mustache was holding the door open, bowing.

"You must be Miss Ari," the man said, standing up. "I am Roland, the butler. If you will wait for a moment, I will fetch Master Kenta." With that said, he walked away and up the stairs.

Ari was left alone in the large front hall, finally giving her a chance to look around. She stared in awe at the large chandelier, adorned with beautifully crafted glass diamonds, casting its light throughout the room, even into the darkest corners. A thin blue carpet conformed to both sets of stairs that led up to the second story of the mansion. In front of the section of bare wall between the two staircases, sat a table with a giant flower arrangement. The bright splash of reds, blues, and yellows contrasted so much to the white and blue of the walls and floor, that one's eye could not help but be drawn to it. As Ari walked closer, she noticed a small framed picture sitting on the table as well. She picked it up, and smiled as she looked at it. It was a picture of Seto and Mokuba as little kids. Mokuba was holding onto his brother's shoulders, reaching for a butterfly that was just past his arm's length. Seto, suprisingly, was smiling as well, trying to maintain his balance as Mokuba practically tackled him. Ari's gaze softened. It was as if she was seeing an alternate version of herself and Kenta when they were younger as well.

Suddenly, the sound of running feet and laughter carried down to her from the upstairs hallway. She turned to see Kenta and Mokuba running down the stairs towards her. As they reached the bottom, they bent over double, trying to catch their breaths while still laughing. It was surprising they didn't turn blue from lack of oxygen. Seeing the two boys in such an impossible situation, Ari couldn't help but laugh, too.

"So kiddo," she walked the rest of the way over to Kenta, still chuckling, "I take it you two had a good time!"

Kenta was able to pause his laughter long enough to get a lungful of air. "We had an AWESOME time!" he nearly yelled. "We did all kinds of stuff, and stayed up almost ALL night!" His smile practically circled all the way around his head. Mokuba stood next to him, an equally large smile on his face as well.

"Thanks for letting Kenta stay over!" the young Kaiba said. "I haven't had that much fun in a _long_ time!"

Ari smiled back at him. "Well, thank you for inviting him. I can tell he had just as much fun as you did." She turned to her younger brother. "Ready to go home, shorty?"

Kenta sighed. "Yeah, I guess so," he said resignedly, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. "Thanks again, Mokuba! I'll see you at school, okay?"

"Alright, see you then."

Ari and Kenta walked out the door and back through the gate. They turned around and waved to Mokuba, who was still standing on the front porch, waving back.

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"So, what all did you two do?" Ari asked her younger brother.

"Well, first we hung out in the game room. It was huge and had all these totally awesome games! Then, we went up to Mokuba's room, and he taught me how to play Duel Monsters, and he said he's gonna get me my own deck so we can play when we have free time at school! And then we stayed up all night watching movies! It was the best!"

Ari was a little overwhelmed by Kenta's quick outburst. This had to have been the first time in a long time she had seen Kenta this happy, and it warmed her heart.

"Well, I'm glad you had so much fun," she said, chuckling. "So, think you'll be able to handle living in our little old boring house after that?"

Kenta smiled up at her. "Of course I can," he replied with a firm tone, "As long as you're with me, sis!"

Ari felt tears well up in her eyes, but she shook her head to clear them from her eyes. She threw an arm around his shoulders, and hugged him to her side as they walked down the street towards their little house.

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_Okay, I can absolutely not wait to write the next chapter. I've had it planned out since I got the idea for this fic, and once it's all done, this story is really gonna start picking up some speed, and getting really good! fangirl squeal_

_Anyway, remember to review, and don't just leave some stupid little face or something!_


	7. New Beginnings

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay folks, I've been getting a lot of really positive reviews and such, and that really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! X3 Anyway, I actually have already revealed what is going to be happening in this chapter to my good friend Lauren, who goes to my school. I told her to get an account on fanfiction, but I don't know if she has. If she does, I will mention her again later on, just as i did with my friend Brittany, a.k.a ClosetEmo. I won't be telling anyone anymore about future plots, though, so if and when I do mention her again, don't pester her about giving you inside hints about what's going to happen, because even she won't know._

_**This chapter has some important events in it, so don't skip it or anything! **__Also, this chapter takes place about a month after the last one, but I couldn't really write a good explanation into the plot, so I figured I'd just write it here, because I'm lazy like that! XD Plus, there's going to be a lot going on in this chapter, so it should make up for the little time deficit (oh yeah, my big word for the day!). So keep that in mind, just so you don't get confused._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Onto the story!_

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**Chapter 7**

Ari nearly fell out of bed when a loud crack sounded outside her bedroom window. Startled, and only half awake, she stumbled out of bed to see what had caused the disturbance. She pushed aside the curtains, and, wiping the sleep out of her eyes, looked at the sky.

She groaned. Dark storm clouds had gathered during the night, and while rain hadn't actually begun to fall, lightning had already set out to tear the sky apart. Ari could only pray that Mother Nature would be so kind as to hold off until the night to unleash her full fury. Otherwise, walking to and from work was going to be hellish.

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"This is definitely _not cool_!" Kenta yelled over the roaring winds, for the millionth time since they had left the house.

Ari glared back at him, her hair whipping her face, hindering her ability to keep her eyes open. "You think I don't know that!" she replied fiercly. Growling, she ducked her head, and continued to push forward, holding onto Kenta's hand. She looked up now and then, to prevent herself from walking into anything, and to keep an eye on the progress they were making on getting to the school. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the school came into view, and Ari and Kenta broke into a run. They both went through the entrance and into the safety that the building offered.

Sighing with relief, Ari smoothed down her hair, trying to force it back into its previously decent state. Kenta looked just as flustered as she was.

"Okay then," she laughed, "That was fun!"

Kenta shook his head at his sister, questioning her sanity. "I've got to get to class." He started walking down the hallway, waving back at his sister. "I'll see you after school, sis."

Ari turned to the door, still giggling a litte bit, and braced herself for the long walk still ahead.

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Fifteen grueling minutes later, Ari stumbled a little as she walked through the doors of Kaiba Corp. Her hair was now even more disorderly, and stuck out in almost every direction. She smoothed it down as best as she could, remembering that she had a small brush in one of her desk drawers that she could use later.

"Well, don't you look fabulous today?" said a voice from the front desk. Ari looked up at the receptionist with a venemous glare on her face.

"Shut it, Kichi! Now is not the time!"

The older woman laughed as a very ruffled and angry Ari stormed past her, intent on getting to the elevator before anyone else could see her. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Ari was sensitive about her looks. It was just that gene that all girls shared. When she reached the elevator, Ari pushed the call button with enough force to push it through the wall. The steel doors opened and Ari stepped in, still struggling with her hair, attempting to flatten it. When the doors opened again, Ari stepped into the hallway and walked towards the doors of her work station. As she walked in, she heard a sarcastic voice call out to her.

"Well, well, well. What vision of beauty is gracing us with her presence on this fine day?"

Ari growled. "Kanaye, I suggest you shut your mouth. Otherwise, I might feel inclined to rip it off your face!"

Kanaye snickered. "Jeez, touchy aren't we?"

Ari ignored him, stalking down to her desk. She furiously pulled open the drawer that contained her hairbrush, and proceeded to rip it through her tangled locks.

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Seto stood next to the window, looking out upon the storm-covered city. Thunder rumbled in the sky just above him, once again leaving him to question why he had his office on the very top floor. After the finals to the Domino City tournament, he hadn't been that fond of thunder or lightning. As he watched the darkened sky, it became apparent that they it was not going to be very long until the rain began to fall. He would have to go pick up Mokuba a little early, or be forced to listen to his little brother's complaints all about Seto not being there to get him on time, even when it was raining, all the way home.

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Ari bit her lip as she looked out the door. The storm had finally broken over the city, and torrents of rain were now pouring from the clouds. _Won't this be fun, _she thought bitterly. _Twenty bucks says I get pneumonia after this. _Not long after she had gotten to work, Ari realized that she had forgotten to at least stop and pick up an umbrella from the store on the way. Not that it would have done her any good. The winds were so fierce that it would probably have been ripped from her hands within mere minutes.

She stared forlornly at the black clouds above her. She had been ready to leave for several minutes, but she her troubled mind had caused her to put it off. _I've got to go get Kenta, _she thought, steeling herself. _I can't wait any longer._ As she took a deep breath, steeling herself to face the cold, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"You don't actually plan to walk home in this weather." It wasn't even a question, as if the speaker was confident of what the answer would be.

Ari turned to see Seto Kaiba standing behind her, his usual stern gaze on his face. He gazed out at the downpour that was currently attempting to wash away the roads, paint, concrete, and all. Ari watched him nervously. The tension between them had lessened a little bit, but not by much. If they passed each other in one of the long hallways, she would offer a quick, formal greeting, to which he would give a cursory nod.

"Well...I...," she started, then stopped, sighing. "I don't have any choice," she said. "I have to get Kenta from school. I'm sure you've heard, our neighborhood isn't exactly the safest place, and more weirdos like to come out in the rain." She sighed. "Well, here goes nothing, I guess."

"Hold on."

Ari jumped a little at his sudden statement. Turning so she faced him once more, she saw that he was holding out an umbrella to her, and holding one for himself in his other hand. As she tentatively took it, she watched him carefully, wondering if there was some kind of catch. He stepped out the door, opening his own umbrella as he did, and motioned for her to follow.

"Come on," he said, "I'll give you a ride."

This time, Ari had no objections. Even if this was her boss, she was smart enough not to refuse a free ride in weather like this. Opening her umbrella and raising it above her head, she quickly followed Seto to his car once again. Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be out of range of the wet, cold drops of water.

Unbeknownst to her, Seto was watching her out of the corner of his eye, smirking slightly at her disheveled hair and flushed face.

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When they pulled up to the school, Ari opened the door of the car, not even bothering to reopen the umbrella Seto had given her. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she soon spotted Kenta and Mokuba, huddled under the small overhang at the entrance. She waved her free hand frantically to grab their attention.

"Kenta! Mokuba!" She yelled their names, hoping they would hear her over the howling winds. The saw her and quickly dashed towards the car, covering their heads with their arms. Ari ducked back inside the car as the boys jumped in the back, shaking the water from their hair. Ari didn't even bother, knowing she would probably soak Seto in the process, and she allowed the water to stream down the sides of her face. She couldn't wait to get home, take a nice hot shower, curl up under the covers, and forget about all the day's troubles.

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Ari kept her eyes closed for the rest of the drive. She was totally worn out, and she definitely felt like she was getting a cold. Even Kenta and Mokuba seemed subdued by the weather, and they sat silently in the back seat. One of them moved every now and then, shaking the remaining water from their hair, and at these times, Ari would feel several cold drops of water on the back of her arm. Seto, of course, was silent. The only noise he made was the rustling of his clothes when he shifted in his seat, or turned the wheel. He wasn't exactly a big fan of storms, but he wasn't about to show it, especially in front of his little brother.

Finally, Ari felt the car lurch slightly as it came to a stop. She wearily opened her eyes, and saw they were on her street, in all its run down glory. She reached over and unbuckled herself, opening the door and bracing once again for the feel of rain against her skin. She briefly registered Seto getting out of the driver's side, and this time she didn't argue. If if she told him not to come up, he would just insist like the last time, so what was the point in arguing? It would just cause her to lose what energy she had left.

She quickly walked over to the stairwell, thankful for the shelter it provided, dingy as it was. Mokuba and Seto both ducked under it as well. Looking back, Ari saw that Kenta was standing with his face more or less towards the sky, staring intently at something.

"Kenta, come on, you're going to get sick if you stand in the rain like that," she told him.

He turned his face from the sky and looked at her forlornly. Instantly she became more alert.

"Kenta, what's wrong?" Now Seto and Mokuba were staring at him as well. Kenta took a quick glance up again, then back to his sister.

Now Ari was seriously worried. Reaching out from the protected area under the stairs, she grabbed both his shoulders and pulled him close to her, staring straight into his eyes.

"Kenta," she repeated firmly, "What's wrong?"

He looked at her again and grimaced. "We need to get upstairs," he replied simply, "Now."

Ari released his shoulders, and turned to race up the stairs, nearly tripping in the process. Throwing all modesty out the proverbial window, she took off her shoes, and holding them in her hand, she practically leaped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The three boys followed close behind her. As she reached the top, Ari fumbled with the key, finally managed to fit it into the lock. With half frozen fingers, she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

She nearly fainted with shock at the sight that stood before her.

Both of the windows in the small living room had been broken, the thin glass shattered by the sheer force of the winds that had blown since before Ari had been awakened. These same winds were also blowing rain through the jagged remains of glass that lined the window frame, soaking the carpet. A large, thick branch had fallen on the roof and had broken through it like cardboard, allowing even more water to drip onto the floor. The small couch was absolutely waterlogged, barely able to contain all the water that had been falling onto it. Ari walked over the soaking carpet, making little squishing noises with every step. She stopped at the small shelf where she had kept the few books she owned. Picking one up, she flipped through the pages, which were now so smudged that not one word could be distinguished from all the other dark stains of ink.

Almost the entire house had been destroyed by the water. The furniture was beyond saving. The books that her mother had given her were now useless. Ari hadn't even looked to see how bad the damage was in her room, but her spirit had just plummeted about one hundred stories down. Her house, her home, had been taken from her once again. There was no way she could pay to replace all of this stuff. New carpet alone could cost well into the hundreds, and even a used couch would cost quite alot, too.

Slowly, Ari sank to her knees, feeling the water run over her legs. She lowered her head until her chin was touching her chest, and she sagged against the wall.

"Sis!" Kenta ran over to her, trying to get her to look him in the eye. "Come on, Ari," he whispered, "You've always got a plan. So what are we gonna do this time?"

Ari looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes filled with so many different emotions that it was impossible to tell where one started and the next began. She looked straight into Kenta's eyes and said the three words he never imagined would ever come out of his sister's mouth.

"I don't know," she whispered pitifully.

Kenta felt like his whole world had just collapsed upon itself. His big sister, the ever strong central column in his life, was crumbling before his very eyes. If she wasn't there with him, what would he do? He couldn't support himself, and he absolutely refused to go back to a foster home. He shuddered at the thought. _Never again_, he repeated in his mind, over and over.

Meanwhile, the two Kaibas watched the whole scene with shocked horror, though it only truly showed on Mokuba's face. If Seto was expressing his feelings anywhere, it was in his eyes. They showed a small amount of pity, though they were mostly dominated by anger. Why had something like this happened to two people who had already lost so much? It was unthinkable. He felt Mokuba give a sharp tug on his sleeve, bringing him out of his thoughts and back to the terrible reality before him.

"Seto," Mokuba whispered urgently, "We have to help them. We can't just walk away and act like we didn't see any of this. There's got to be something we can do for them." His eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Please, Seto. Kenta's my best friend. I dont' want to lose him."

Seto knew his younger brother was right. They had to do something for Ari and Kenta. Thoughts raced through his mind, almost as fast as when he was dueling against Yugi. One idea, though, shone through all of the others. He walked briskly over to where the two were kneeling on the wet carpet. Careful not to let his knees touch the soggy material, Seto lowered himself so he was just a little above eye level with the broken girl.

"Ari." His voice was commanding, removing the need for him to elaborate. Slowly, Ari lifted her head up again to stair at her boss, not caring that her eyes were beginning to puff up from crying. The look of determination in his eyes startled her, and confusion now reigned over all the other emotions that were still shifting through the her own two brilliantly green orbs.

"I'm going to try to help you out here, you got that?" he asked sternly. He wasn't trying to be cruel, he was just making sure that her grief-stricken mind could comprehend what he was saying.

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I can pay for the repairs to your house. Keep in mind, I'm not doing any of this for free. I will be expecting you to put in more hours at work, probably staying two or three hours later." He held up his hand before either she or Kenta could protest.

"Until the repairs are finished..." He paused, feeling all three sets of eyes in the room staring at him intently. He took another deep breath, praying he wouldn't regret his decision in the morning.

"...both of you are welcome to stay at my mansion.

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_Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Fear the evilness of a cliffhangar!!! _

_I am very proud of this chapter. Not only did I use lots of big words (lol), but I really had fun with the storm descriptions in the beginning. I thought the whole 'tearing apart the sky' thing was almost poetic! X3_

_I am so glad this chapter is out of the way. Like I've said before, I have several ideas for upcoming chapters, but they couldn't happen without this happening first, so yay!_

_Anyway, today is officially my last day of school, so I will be able to update more often. As you can tell, this story is about to start heating up, so, in the words of Mr. Arnold from Jurassic Park, "Hold on to your butts!_


	8. First Night

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Everybody say it with me: NO MORE SCHOOL!!!!!! I am finally free of that hellish prison, and out of the clutches of my evil, soul-stealing english teacher. No one liked her at all. She was teaching way back when my friend's mom was in school. Her mom told us that while Mrs. Parker says she took time off the raise her kids, it was really because she was caught smoking pot with two other students on the football field! How could they ever let someone like that back into the educational system?!_

_Anyway, I was really proud of my last chapter. I really got into the descriptions of the storm, and I have been dying to write about Ari and Kenta going to live with the Kaibas since I started this fic. As I've said a million times, it was a very important point in the plot, especially for the future chapters I already have planned out. It makes me so mad that I can't write them already, but I guess all I can do is grit my teeth and work on these chapters._

_Just a reminder, folks, Kaiba is acting out of character, but it's a fanfiction people! Of course things are going to be different!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 8**

"W-what did you s-say?" Ari stammered through her suppresses sobs.

Seto sighed. This was a lot harder to do than he had thought it would be.

"I said, I'll pay for the repairs to your house. And, until the repairs are done-" He once again struggled to force the words out. This kind of action went against almost every belief he had instilled in himself over the years. "-you and Kenta can stay at the mansion with me and Mokuba."

He still could not believe what he was saying. Seto Kaiba, billionare and C.E.O. of Kaiba Corp Industries, offering one of his employees a temporary home in his mansion? If anyone ever heard about this, his reputation would be ruined.

Even after hearing it a second time, Ari could still not believe her ears. Behind Seto, her little brother's eyes were twice as wide as hers. Still frozen near the door, Mokuba's jaw could have hit the floor with enough force to break through the downstairs ceiling as well. He knew that, because he had asked, and because his older brother could never refuse him anything, Seto would do something to help his little brother's friend, but he hadn't expected anything like this.

Feeling the gazes of the other three, Seto stood up again, clearing his throat.

"I have to be getting back home," he said, with no hint of emotion in his voice. "If you're going to come, I suggest you both go pack as many clothes as you can bring. These repairs aren't going to get finished that quickly, considering the amount of damage." He eyed Ari, who was still sitting on the floor, too shocked to move, even while her brain was screaming at her to take up the offer, seeing as how she had nowhere else to go. It was as if someone had cut all the cords that connected her brain to the rest of her body; she was still sending her arms and legs commands, they just weren't receiving them.

Seto cocked an eyebrow at her. "Unless, of course," he said, glancing around at the ruined furniture, "You plan on staying here."

Ari just stared and blinked, still confused. Was he really offering her and Kenta a place to say? This was even more unbelievable than him allowing her to leave early, more unbelievable then him offering her a ride. This just couldn't be happening.

_But it was._

Finally, everything clicked in her mind. Pressing one hand firmly against the wall, she willed herself to stand on her cold, trembling legs. Still visibly shaken, she managed to stumble down the hall to her bedroom. Mokuba, seeing that Kenta was still firmly rooted to the spot behind Seto, went over and lightly dragged his unresponsive friend towards the bedrooms as well.

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Once he was alone, Seto let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. Raising one of his hands up, he pressed it against his forehead, trying to quell the pounding headache he was getting as a result of the weather and his own nerves. _Who knew this whole being nice thing could take so much out of a guy? _he thought. It was a huge surprise that Yugi and his little gang of cheerleaders didn't collapse from exhaustion, seeing as how they were nice to practically everyone, everyday.

On top of his most recent act of kindness, he was going to have to practice it a lot more. If he was going to keep his word and let Ari and Kenta stay at his mansion, he was going to have to keep being kind to them.

He groaned audibly. This was going to take a lot of work.

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Ari made it to her room, and, despite her unsteady legs, she hadn't fallen once. Looking around, she saw that the window in her room had been broken through as well. The damage, though, wasn't quite as bad on the windowless side. The bed had shielded quite a lot from the water, including, thankfully, her dresser. Kneeling down on a dry spot on the carpet, she reached past the edge of the soaking wet comforter to feel under around under her bed for her suitcase. She had held onto it ever since she had finally gotten out of her last foster home, even if she had planned not to move for a while.

Finally, she felt its smooth surface under her fingertips, and she dragged it out. Unbuckling the metal clasps, she lifted the lid and let it rest against the wall next to the dresser.

As she turned to open one of the drawers, something on the floor caught her eye. Looking closer, she saw it was the picture of her family, the very one she cherished above everything else. Though it had escaped the water, the wind had apparently blown it down from its spot on the shelf. The glass had broken, remaining one piece, but left large cracks running overtop of the actual photo, making it look as though the happy group was being torn apart. Ari picked it up carefully, avoiding the small pieces of glass that fell out as she moved it.

She traced her finger along the cracks, following the spiderweb pattern. She remembered the day when she and Kenta had been taken from their home and put into the care of a woman they didn't even know. One thought replayed in her mind as tears began to flow down her cheeks once again.

_I've lost my home again._

Finally, holding back none of her grief, she dissolved into tearful sobs, holding the picture tightly to her chest.

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Fifteen minutes later, Ari walked back out into the destroyed living room. Seto was leaning against a dry spot on the wall, arms crossed impatiently. Kenta was standing close to Mokuba, looking very subdued. It didn't surprise her, seeing as what they had gone through in less than a half hour. He, too, held a suitcase which looked like it was now holding almost everything he owned.

Wiping the remaining tears off her cheeks, she attempted to put on at least a small smile, for her brother's sake. All she managed was a forced grimace.

"Well, I'm ready to go," she said hoarsely. Her throat was now raw from sobbing, making it uncomfortable to speak, even a little bit.

Seto nodded and headed toward the door, the other three following behind him. Ari was the last out, locking the door behind her. Once again, they headed down the stairs and into the car. As Seto turned the key, Ari cast one last forlorn glance at the shattered windows. Soon, they fell out of sight as the car rounded the corner.

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Shivering from the cold winds, Ari once again walked through the doors into the exquisite Kaiba mansion. Its beauty had not diminished in the time she had been away. The light from the chandelier seemed brighter and more warming then ever, considering the more-than-dreary weather outside. As before, Roland was there to greet them.

"Good evening, Master Kaiba." He addressed Seto as he bowed deeply. "How may I assist you this evening?"

"Take Ari here to one of the guest rooms," he said firmly, before turning to the two younger boys. "Mokuba, Kenta can stay in the room next to yours." With that, he turned away and stalked off. Mokuba immediately dragged a still dazed Kenta up the stairs and down the hall, leaving a confused Ari in their wake.

"Miss Ari, if you'd kindly follow me this way-" She jumped a little as Roland's voice interrupted her thoughts. "-I will show you where you will be staying."

He began walking up the stairs, the carpeting softening the sound of his footsteps, and Ari followed. They turned down the hallway that Mokuba and Kenta had not taken. Ari could not help but stare as they traveled further from the entrance hall. This hall, while not as grandly decorated, still held an awe-inspiring quality in the eyes of someone who had never seen it before. Just like the front room, there was blue carpeting on the floor, and the ceiling and walls were white. Every once in a while, a smaller version of the flower arrangement in the entrance hall broke through the monotony. Obviously, the one thing that Seto truly put his creativity into was his dueling technology.

There were many hallways that branched off the one they were currently traveling down. Ari looked down a few of them as she walked past. Basically, they were all the same, making her wonder how someone could keep from getting lost in the rather large building. Every once in a while, she would see a maid cleaning one of the long hallways, dusting off the very scattered and few pictures that hung on the walls of the more used of them.

Finally, they came to a wing that was punctuated by several doors. Roland opened one, then stood aside to allow Ari to enter. Inside was a large bed, similar to Mokuba's, but like Seto's, the comforter was blue.

"If there is anything you need during your stay, please, do not hesitate to call for me. Once you have changed, you may put your used clothes into the basket outside your door, and one of the maids will make sure they are washed. I will leave you to unpack your things now, Miss Ari." Roland bowed before closing the door.

Ari, now alone in the unfamiliar room, wasn't sure of what to do with herself. She stood in the middle of the room, fidgeting uncomfortably. Finally, she walked over to the dresser, letting her fingers trace the intricate patterns on the face of one of the drawers. Setting down her suitcase once again, she opened it and pulled out a pair of pink sweatpants and a red

t-shirt. She slipped into them silently, then took her damp clothes and quietly opened the door, setting them gently into the basket that, just as Roland had said, was sitting just outside.

As she stepped back into the room, she walked over to the window, pushing aside the light curtain. _Staying here is definitely going to take some getting used to, _she thought. Finally, all the events of the day hit her full force. Her exhaustion won out over her nervousness, and she walked tiredly to the bed. She drew back the sheets, curling up underneath them, welcoming their warmth. She immediately forgot her concerns, for the time being, as she lay down, and closed her eyes, surrendering herself to unconsciousness.

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_Well, that's it for that chapter. I took longer than it should have, because I kept getting distracted and playing minesweeper. What can I say, I have a short attention span some days. _

_The descriptions in this chapter could be better, but I was feeling lazy, so please don't pester me about it. My imagination went on a little hiatus, so I can't really help it._

_I noticed that in some of my chapters, I forgot to post the disclaimer, but I went back and changed that. Just do me a favor; if you notice that I have forgotten to post the disclaimer, please bring it to my attention in a private message, because I really don't want to get sued. If I did, then none of you would get to read anymore of this totally awesome story, and that wouldn't be cool. Lol, anyway keep up with the positive reviews, I love hearing from all my avid readers._


	9. The Next Morning

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Ok, I plan to work my butt off in this chapter, seeing as how the last one wasn't that good description wise. I actually went back and revised it a little, in case you want to read it. For some reason there was a paragraph break near the bottom, so I went back and fixed that as well. Remember, if I forget to post the disclaimer, or if there's a paragraph break, please tell me so I can fix it. I don't want to get sued, because frankly, I need all the money I've got right now. Lol._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Alright, lets see what I can come up with in this chapter._

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**Chapter 9**

Ari couldn't remember the last time she had felt this warm. Maybe it was just because it was the morning after a huge storm, but her bed seemed more comfortable than usual. The mattress seemed so soft, almost like a cloud. She snuggled deeper into the pillow, trying to get back to sleep.

Suddenly, her alarm went off, sounding in her ears painfully. Groaning, she flailed her arm around for a minute before she found the source of her irritation and shut it off. Despite her body's protests, she sat up and opened her eyes.

She froze.

Ari looked around, completely bewildered as to her whereabouts. The room she was in was completely strange to her. But when she spotted her open suitcase sitting by the dresser, the previous night's events came back to her, overwhelming her senses. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as her throat tightened again. She took a deep breath to calm herself, brushing the tears away with the back of her hand. _Well, at least I know why I was so comfortable, _she thought, laughing to herself. Her bed would never have been that soft, or warm, no matter how bad the storm was.

Lifting up the blankets, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, setting her feet down on the soft carpeting. She stretched her arms above her head, and sighed in relief as she felt her back crack.

As she took another look around, she noticed another door that she had overlooked the night before. Walking over, she timidly opened the door, revealing what seemed to be a luxurious bathroom. The floor tiles where a slightly tannish-pink color, suggesting that the room had been meant for a female guest after all. Directly in front of Ari stood a beautiful white tub that she could have easily completely immersed herself in, were it full. Small jets were imbedded in the side. _I'm definitely going to try that out later, _she thought, a dreamy look coming over her face at the idea of the water jets massaging the tense knots out of her back at the end of the day.

Relinquishing her dreams for reality, she instead walked over to the shower that stood in the corner, ready to clean herself off and begin the new day.

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After her shower, Ari decided to make her way to the kitchen. She wandered around the mansion for a few minutes, very lost, before one of the maids, smiling, pointed her in the right direction. She had remembered that Seto had told Mokuba to take Kenta to the room next to his, so she didn't have to worry about getting him up. When she got to the kitchen, she was slightly bewildered when another maid asked her what she would like to eat. She muttered that something simple, like a bagel, would be fine, then sat down at the large oak table. She was once again amazed by the intricacy of the carving along the bottom edge of the table, and sat tracing it with her finger. She glanced up at the small light fixture hanging above it. It wasn't as beautiful as the larger one in the front room, but it was pretty.

Soon, the maid came back with her bagel, then bowed as she left again. It still made Ari a little uncomfortable, to have people bowing to her. Even when her parents had been alive, they had never had servants, so it was definitely going to take some getting used to. She sighed and took a bite out of the bagel.

"I hope your finding everything without any difficulty," a voice behind her said.

Turning around, she saw Seto standing behind her, and she nearly choked on the small bite she had in her mouth.

"Mr. Kaiba," she said, coughing as she jumped out of her chair. The corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was suppressing a smile.

"You don't have to get up," he told her as she forced her half chewed food down her throat. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't lost. It is a big house after all."

"No, no," she replied, still coughing a little. "I'm fine really."

He nodded curtly. "Good."

"Seto?" Mokuba's voice called from the hallway. "Seto, where are you?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm in here, Mokuba!" he called, raising his voice just enough so his little brother could hear him. Mokuba's head popped through the door, and he grinned when he spotted Ari.

"Hey, Ari!" he said cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?" He laughed when all she could do was nod. "Don't worry. Seto might seem scary, but he doesn't bite."

The older Kaiba shot his little brother a glare that would make most begin to sweat with fear, but Mokuba's grin only widened.

"Are you and Kenta almost ready to go?" he asked irritably.

Mokuba's grin disappeared. "I've been trying to get him up for ten minutes," he said, cocking his head to one side, "But he just won't budge."

Ari sighed, wiping off her hands on a napkin that the maid had also brought. "Mokuba, can you show me where he is?" she asked.

"No problem." He headed out the door, and Ari and Seto followed. His presence still made her nervous, but she did her best to conceal it, standing a little straighter than she usually did. She followed the ever cheerful Mokuba down yet another maze of hallways until they came to a pair of doors.

"Kenta's in the room on the left," he told her. Ari nodded, opening the door silently. The curtains were still closed, making the room, which was basically identical to Mokuba's, dim, but she could still see Kenta's slumbering form, curled up in the bed. The two Kaibas watched curiously from the doorway as she tiptoed over to his side. She leaned down so she was positioned right next to his ear, and took a deep breath.

"_Kenta!_" she yelled. She jumped back as Kenta shot up and fell right off the bed, his legs tangled in the sheets.

Ari was now doubled over with laughter, watching him try to free himself.

"What is _wrong _with you?!" he demanded, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes so he could glare at her.

She chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm _deaf!_" He stumbled to his feet, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Alright, well now that you're up, it's time to get ready for school," she told him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"_Fine,_" he replied, suppressing a yawn as he brushed her hand away.

Ari walked out, blushing when she saw Seto and Mokuba staring at her, amazed. She shrugged.

"You just have to know what to do," she told them walking back down the hall.

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Ari pulled on her shoes, making sure they were secured on her feet. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and headed for the door. Even if she didn't have to walk Kenta to school, she still wanted to get her daily exercise, which is what she thought of it as.

"You know," she heard a voice behind her say, "You don't have to walk."

She looked over her shoulder, this time not at all surprised to see Seto standing there, his arms crossed as he leaned against on of the walls.

"No, I can walk," she said, smiling. "It keeps me fit and trim, and besides, you've already done so much for me and Kenta. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble."

For a minute, she thought she saw a faint blush cross his face, but then it was gone, making her doubt if it had ever actually existed. "It wasn't any trouble at all," he replied. "If anything, it's a convenience. You do remember what I said about you working extra hours now?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, of course."

"Good." He turned his back to her and proceeded to walk away.

"Um, Mr. Kaiba?"

He paused and turned back towards her. "What is it?" he asked a little impatiently.

"I just wanted to thank you...for everything. If it wasn't for you, Kenta and I would probably be on the streets or something by now, and I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to my little brother." She stopped, trying to find the right words, turning away before she continued. "You've done so much for us, and I don't think there will ever be a way for me to truly repay you, but I swear I will try my hardest to find one."

Her heart stopped for a minute as she looked back at him. The usual look of placid indifference was gone, and it was replaced by a look of pure understanding. To Ari, it was like she was seeing what truly lay beyond the emotionless mask he wore.

"You don't have to worry about paying me back," he said. "Just continue working as well as you always have, that's all I ask for." He suddenly turned around, as if he had realised that his mask had faltered. "Well," he said sternly, clearing his throat," Shouldn't you already be gone?"

Ari blinked at the sudden change. "Uh, yeah...I guess I better go then." Still confused, she walked out the door.

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Seto was seriously starting to question his own sanity. He was acting kind to this girl that he barely knew, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop.

_Get it together, Kaiba. _He told himself over and over that she would only be here for a little while, and after that, he wouldn't have to even acknowledge her anymore. Yet when he thought about this, something pulled a little at his heart. He convinced himself that it was just due to the fact that he had once been in the same position as she was now.

_Oh, just keep saying that, Seto. _He growled at his subconscious, which didn't seem to want to agree with him today. The little voice giggled. _You don't scare me with that little growl of yours. _Beginning to lose his temper, Seto immediately shoved the little voice into the farthest reaches of his mind, hoping to silence it. He stalked off to find the boys. Today was going to be another long day.

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_Okay, I thought I did pretty good with this one. And I had fun with what little bit of subcon-Kaiba we got to see today! He even giggles! Oh, I'm definitely going to have fun with this one!_

_Anyway, you all know the drill: reviews, then another chapter. No reviews equals no new chapter. Lol. Anyway, talk to you all later!_

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	10. Laughter

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, it took me a long time to get this chapter together. I experienced my first case of writers' block, and I can now see why everyone hates it so much. I hated it before, because when my friend experienced it, I couldn't read more of her stories, but now I can hate it from personal experience! XD_

_So, anyway, I had to ask several people for help and I'd just like to give credit where credit is due:_

_HogwartShinobi__- I absolutely loved the dueling idea! I honestly never thought of that before!_

_ChaoticKinkyCola__- Lauren, I always love your ideas, 'cuz your as crazy as me!_

_TranquilSeas__- I loved your addition to the whole dueling thing, that's definitely going to show up in this chapter as well! I'm planning on saving the other ideas for a later time though, just to leave the rest of my readers hanging! X3_

_I got several reviews commenting on the whole giggling thing from last chapter. Just a reminder folks, that wasn't actually Kaiba, it was his little subconscious voice that is finally finding an opening in that emotional shell of his. Trust me when I say Kaiba is probably really freaked out that even his inner voice giggles! Lol!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Alright then, onto the story!_

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**Chapter 10**

_This is the __amazing_Ari said to herself.

She had finally gotten back from work, and was now relaxing in the luxurious bath she had seen that morning. She had layed her head on the back edge, easing the tension in her neck muscles melt away, her hair flowing gently in the steaming waters. It just didn't get any better than this. Before, she had barely ever had time to take a shower at night, what with having to cook dinner for herself and Kenta, then using what little hot water they had to do the laundry. By the time she was done, she barely had the energy to walk to her room, let alone stand under a torrent of cold water for another ten minutes.

Seeing as how there were plenty of maids in the mansion, she didn't have to worry about doing cooking or cleaning. She still felt a little awkward about having someone else take care of something that had been her responsibility for quite some time, but there was really nothing she could do.

After a while, the water began to cool, and Ari resignedly got out. She grabbed one of the towels to dry herself, marveling at how soft it was, and walked back into her bedroom to find some clothes. She figured something simple would do, not as simple as her normal nightwear, though. She still had to go downstairs for dinner, and she wouldn't be surprised if Seto would be there, and somehow she knew he wouldn't exactly approve.

Finally, she decided on a pair of jeans and a loosely fitting black t-shirt would be acceptable. She pulled it over her head, slipping it gently over her form as she shook the remaining water out of her damp locks of hair. Looking at the clock, she saw she still had about an hour until she had to go downstairs, so she decided to take a little walk around the mansion. She wouldn't want to end up getting lost in such a big place, so it was best that she take a look around while she had the time. Running the towel over her hair one last time, she hung it back up in the bathroom, and walked out into the hall.

Try as she might, Ari couldn't help but get lost. After five minutes of turning into one identical hallway after the other, she had completely lost her bearings. She turned down another hall, feeling like she was going in circles. She hadn't even seen any of the maids, or Roland, to ask for help. She sighed. It was times like these that she missed her tiny little house. At least there was no chance of her getting lost there. Putting her hands on her hips, she shook her head. _I just had to go exploring, didn't I? _she thought. _Damn my curiosity! _

Suddenly, she lifted her head, her ears straining to listen. There it was again.

It was faint, but she could definitely hear voices. Turning another corner, she finally found herself in a familiar area. This was where Kenta's and Mokuba's rooms were. Ari could hear their voices carrying out of one of the slighty opened door. Smiling, she walked over and pushed it open the rest of the way. On the bed, both of the boys were sprawled out comfortably, in the middle of a game of Duel Monsters. Ari's heart warmed even further. She hadn't seen Kenta so happy before, even after his sleepover.

Looking up, the two of them finally spotted Ari standing in the doorway.

"Hey, sis!" Kenta said, his smile growing when he saw her. "How was work?"

She shrugged, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. "Oh, you know, same old, same old. Got in, teased Kanaye, did a little work on the computer, pestered Kanaye some more, then left."

Mokuba laughed. "That sounds like fun!"

"It was," she replied with a giggle. "So, who's winning?" she asked, glancing at the cards scattered across the bed.

Kenta frowned slightly, his focus returning to the cards in his hand. "Mokuba of course. I've only been playing for a month, so I'm really not that good yet." He paused to scowl at Mokuba. "Plus the fact that a certain _someone_ is the younger brother of one of the top ranking duelists in the world, so he probably knows quite a few little tricks!"

Thought he hid his face, Mokuba's body shook with supressed laughter. Ari giggled at her brother's frustration, and his scowl deepened.

Mokuba finally recovered from his fit of laughter, and he smiled as he lay down a single spell card. "I win!" he said gleefully.

"Aargh! I give up!" Kenta flopped back on the bed.

All self control gone, Ari laughed so hard that she fell of the bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

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Seto sat at the desk in his room, typing away, as per usual. After he had picked up the boys from school, he had headed straight back to his work. It wasn't that he wanted to, it was just force-of-habit. Sometimes, he wished he could just come home and kick back, but running his company was a twenty-four hour job.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," he called, his eyes not leaving the screen for even a second.

Roland opened the door, bowing for a minute before he spoke. "Master Kaiba, dinner is ready."

Seto shut his laptop. "Good, good," he muttered, rubbing his eyes so they would adjust to not having to look at the illuminated monitor.

Roland turned to leave, then stopped. "Would you like me to fetch Miss Ari and Masters Mokuba and Kenta as well?"

Wincing slightly as his muscles ached in protest to moving after so long, Seto stood up, gingerly stretching his arms. "No, I'll get them."

"As you wish, sir." With a final bow, Roland exited the room, leaving the door open. Finally feeling that his muscles were sufficiently awakened, he grabbed his white coat off the back of his chair, and walked out. Ari's room was the closest, so he decided to get her first. He headed down the halls, automatically knowing where to go.

Seto reached her room in only a few seconds. He knocked firmly on the door.

"Ari," he called, expecting an answer, yet receving none. He frowned and knocked again. "Ari?" He waited another minute, then opened the door, hesitantly looking inside.

No one was in the room. He glanced toward the bathroom, its door wide open, and saw no one there either. He shut the door and stalked off down the hall again. It would be best to tell Mokuba and Kenta to head down to eat, then he could look for Ari. He growled at the thought of having to search the mansion for a girl who had foolishly wandered off somewhere. It was going to be such a waste of time.

As he reached Mokuba's room, he heard the two boys' laughter, accompanied by a lighter, more feminine laugh. His frown lifting a little, knowing that the girlish laugh meant he wouldn't have search the entire house for a certain someone, he opened the door.

It took a hell of a lot of self control to keep himself from laughing as well.

Ari had her brother pinned on the floor, and was tickling him unmercifully. Kenta was trying to push his sister off, wiggling back and forth in a vain attempt to free himself. Mokuba was rolling on his bed, howling with laughter, tears streaming down his face. Seto wasn't sure if he had ever seen such a ridiculously funny scene.

Finally deciding that they had wasted enough time, the older Kaiba cleared his throat loudly, finally announcing his prescence. All three of the room's current occupants stopped and looked up at him.

The room was silent as they all sat frozen, startled by the intrusion.

Then, Ari began to laugh again. The boys' eyes grew wider as she finally released her brother and backed away, clutching her ribs as she continued to laugh. She didn't even stop when she backed into the wall, sliding down it until she was seated on the floor. Finally, her laughter subsided to a fit a giggles. She looked up at the boys, who had watched her whole little laughing fit, and began to blush furiously.

"What was that all about?" Kenta asked finally.

"I'm not really sure," Ari replied. "It's just-" A few more giggles escaped. "-the looks on all your faces when he walked in." She clasped her hands over her mouth as the laughter threatened to take over once again.

Seto just shook his head. "Well, I think we've wasted enough time. Come on, it's time to eat."

"Alright!" the two younger boys shouted. Without a second glance back, they both raced out of the room. Their shouts of joy carried throughout the entire mansion.

Still shaking his head, Seto turned back towards Ari, who was still currently sitting on the floor, though her giggling seemed to have finally stopped.

"Do you need some help?" he asked.

It was her turn to shake her head. "No, no, I'm fine," she said, putting one hand on the wall for support as she stood up again. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes, and finally started towards the door again. She stopped just outside, listening to the distant sound of Kenta's shouts. Her eyes softened.

Seto watched the change as she visibly relaxed. "Is something the matter?"

She glanced back up at him, and for once, she didn't look nervous.

She turned to look in the direction Kenta and Mokuba had gone. "I was just thinking," she said finally. "Even through all the hard times we've had, I've never really felt like I was beaten, or like I should just give up, because-" Ari looked up at him, a bright, content smile on her face. "-I've always had my little brother there with me. I've always known that I can't give up, because I wouldn't just be letting myself down, I would be letting him down, too. And that is something I could never allow."

Her expression darkened a little. "When we went into our house that night, and saw how everything had just been...destroyed, I really came close to losing it. If you hadn't been there, if you hadn't given us that little bit of hope, I would have broken down completely on the spot, and Kenta..." She shuddered. "I don't even want to think about what could have happened to him if I lost it. He's everything to me, the only family I've got left."

As she looked back up at Seto, she was once again shocked. The same expression he had worn this morning was once again adorning his face, as he too looked on down the hall, as if he could still see Mokuba and Kenta as well.

"I know what you mean," he said, his voice oddly soft. "I feel the same way about Mokuba. Just thinking about how much he needed me got me through more tough times than I could ever count."

Then, just like before, he seemed to wake up, and he was once again his usual, indifferent self.

"We better head downstairs, too," he said, already walking away, his white coat billowing out behind him. "They're probably waiting for us."

Still smiling, Ari followed him.

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Dinner was the best meal Ari remembered having in years. She wasn't completely sure of what it was, but she didn't care. It had tasted great, and if given the chance, she would've eaten about twenty more of them.

She watched, amused, as the boys tried to coax Seto into dueling with them.

"Please, Seto!" Mokuba begged as he hung onto his brother's arm. "Come on, can't your work wait for a little while?"

Seto attempted to pry his brother away, but it was as if someone had superglued them together.

"Look, Mokuba," he said, not bothering to hide his annoyance, "I have to get some stuff done. I'll play with you later, okay?"

Mokuba pouted. "Yeah, and then when later comes around, you'll still be busy. That's how it always is with you."

The older Kaiba was beginning to desperate. "Look, if you two want someone to duel with, why don't you ask Ari?"

Ari's smile instantly faded as all eyes in the room turned on her.

"Yeah, sis, why don't you duel with us?" Kenta asked hopefully.

Ari suddenly decided that her lap was very interesting, and kept her eyes glued there.

"Ari?" Her brother's voice had taken on a slight begging tone, just as Mokuba's had seconds ago. _Maybe I shouldn't let Kenta hang around him anymore,_ she thought. _He's becoming a bit of a bad influence._

"Come on, Ari," Mokuba chimed in.

She mumbled something just low enough so the others couldn't hear her.

"What did you say, sis?"

She mumbled it a little louder.

"We still can't understand you."

"I don't know how to play Duel Monsters, _okay_?!" she half yelled.

An awkward silence filled the room. Ari was once again studying her lap with enough intensity to burn a hole right through her jeans and into the chair.

Mokuba glanced up at his older brother, and he immediately wanted nothing more than to be out of the room as soon as possible. Seto appeared to be in a state of shock. Mokuba couldn't say he wasn't shocked either. After all, who didn't know how to play Duel Monsters? It was the most popular game in the world, for crying out loud. Even so, the fact that his brother was openly showing his emotions was still scary.

"Hey, Kenta, race you back upstairs!" he yelled as he ran out of the room. Kenta got the hint, and followed close behind.

Ari and Seto were left alone. They sat their for several minutes, neither of them attempting to break the silence.

She had guessed something like this would happen. After all, most of the work that went on in Seto's company focused around the ever popular card game. She wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to her again.

Finally, Seto decided he'd had enough. "You," he said firmly as he looked at her, "Follow me."

Ari meekly obeyed, keeping close behind him as he walked out of the room at a rather brisk pace. She followed him into what appeared to be a living room of sorts.

"Sit down at the table over there," he told her. "I'll be right back."

She sat down dejectedly as he walked out again. For once, she didn't even bother to take in her surroundings. Her gaze remained focused on her feet now. She had just succeeded in ticking off the one person who had given her and Kenta a temporary home. Now what was she supposed to do?

Ari finally heard Seto's footsteps as he reentered the room. She decided then and there that she had to do everything she could so as to not lose such a gift.

"Mr. Kaiba, I am very sorry if I offended you in any way." He stopped, stunned, but still she continued. "I know that dueling is a very important part of your life-"

"Ari," he tried to cut in.

"-and it's even a big part of your company and everything so-"

"Ari, I-"

"-I should know how to duel, but I've just never had the time-"

"Ari, could y-"

"-but please, Mr. Kaiba, I-"

"_Stop calling me that._"

Finally, she stopped her ranting, and looked up at him, startled by the anger she could hear in his voice. From what she could see, he was barely keeping himself under control now. He took a deep breath, trying to stop himself from shaking.

"Stop calling me that," he repeated in a calmer tone.

Ari was once again confused. "Stop calling you what?"

He sighed. "Mr. Kaiba," he said. "You are here as a guest. You're not one of the servants. You don't have to call me that."

Now she was really confused.

"Then, what _am_ I supposed to call you?"

"Seto," he said. "You can call me Seto."

Ari could have fainted right there and then. She knew for a fact that the only person who called him by his first name was Mokuba. Everybody else just called him Kaiba. It was a well known fact that even the famous Maximillion Pegasus didn't dare to call him anything else. There could be no way that he was actually giving her permission to call him by his first name. Ari would've thought that hell would have frozen over first, but apparently she was wrong.

Once again, she was left speechless. She could do nothing more than sit and stare at him, mouth agape.

Finally, she collected her wits. "You...you really mean that?"

"Yes, now will you please just calm down already!"

She gulped and nodded.

"Good," he said. "Now we can get down to business."

Ari was lost for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "What do you mean?"

"Look at the table more closely."

For the first time, she inspected the table. It had what appeared to be some sort of pattern carved into the top surface. There were two rows of rectangular boxes on each side of the table. Something about them was familiar, like she had seen it somewhere before. She remembered seeing it earlier that day, in Mokuba's bedroom.

It finally clicked, and her suspicions were confirmed as Seto pulled out two decks of cards, placing one on each side of the table in one of the rectangles.

"Since you don't know how to play just yet," he said with a smirk, "consider this your first lesson in Duel Monsters."

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_I know, I know, it's kind of a cliffhangar, but gosh darn it, I'm tired. It's now 7:12 in the morning, and I literally did not sleep at all last night. No, I just had to stay up all night to get this freakin' chapter done, so no complaints, or so help me God, I will kill your family!_

_On a lighter note: hurray, they're on a first name basis! In the words of Tristen in __Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series__, "Holy s on a s sandwich with s on top, and a side order of s!" Lol! XD_

_I know I didn't actually get around to using all the ideas that my faithful reviewers suggested, but I promise you, more of them will show up in the next chapter._

_I'm actually going to take a little break from writing this, because I've been on my computer too much lately, and my mom is starting to get ticked off at me. Plus, I have other things to do. Me and my friend Lauren (a.k.a. ChaoticKinkyCola) are going to kidnap evil Bakura and spend the rest of the week stealing people's house keys!!!_

_So, until the next time, aufwiedersehn!_


	11. Scorching Days

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I kind of had to get all my thoughts together. I've actually had the basic idea for this chapter in my head since I first thought up this fic, but I need some more substance to make it flow better with the rest of the story. I kind of tweaked my original idea for this chapter as well, because I couldn't see how to make it happen like I wanted._

_I just have one goal for this chapter, though. I want to get at least 7 reviews for this one, folks, so you really have to review on this one. Come on now, let's see how many of you actually read my little rants. XD_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_Alright, and we're off!_

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**Chapter 11**

After what seemed like an eternity, Seto finally put the phone down. He had spent the last hour or so calling contractors to fix Ari and Kenta's house. It had taken a while, but he had finally gotten everything in order. First, one company would come to fix the roof and windows. After they were done, another group of workers would come and replace the carpeting. Last, but not least, the walls had to be repainted. It was going to take quite a while to finish.

Sighing, he stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. He walked over to the window, looking out upon the courtyard. Though it wasn't quite as beautiful as the front of the mansion, it held a certain serenity. A few small, scattered flowerbeds dotted the landscape, and a few hedges lined the edge of the grassy expanse. A smaller fountain stood at the center. Seto had always found the sound of the softly trickling water had a calming effect.

Even though the only pavement consisted of a small pathway through some of the flowers, he could still see the heat rising off of it. Even just standing close to the window was too much.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, he closed the curtain, hoping to keep the heat out of the room as well. Today was not a good day to be caught on the streets. That was for sure.

An idea flitted across his mind. The corners of his mouth twitched up, hinting at a smile, as he walked out the door and down the hall to Mokuba's room.

Pushing open the door, he found it to be empty. Frowning only slightly, he opened the door to Kenta's room. It, too, was empty.

_They must be in Ari's room_, he said to himself.

Ever since he had taught her how to play Duel Monsters, she had become addicted to it. Surprisingly, she had been able to grasp it quickly, and had already become quite good. Yesterday, he had gone to get her for dinner, and had found her sprawled across her bed, cards all around. Almost every night, she and the boys had sat up for hours, playing.

The little lessons had done more than just improve Ari's dueling skills. Both she and Seto had become more comfortable around one another. She no longer jumped out of her skin when he spoke to her, and she didn't hesitate when she approached him either.

As for him, he wasn't as closed off as he had been before. Often times, he would find himself smiling at some little comment she had made, be it about their brothers or even her job. Just something about the way she said it caused any anger he had to temporarily disappear.

_Ooooo, and why might that be? _his inner self asked.

Seto stiffened. He had been asking himself the same question for several days now, but had still not come up with an answer.

_You mean a logical answer, _the voice teased.

He shook his head, hoping to dislodge the nagging little voice from wherever it was hiding. Its constant intrusions were really getting on his nerves.

After several more minutes of mental debate with himself, he made his way to Ari's room. He could faintly hear the sound of several voices coming from inside, confirming that Mokuba and Kenta were inside as well.

He knocked softly, then pushed the door open.

All three of the rooms occupants were sitting on the bed. Ari and Mokuba seemed to be in the middle of a heated duel. Kenta was looking back and forth between the two. Seto walked over to the end of the bed, and leaned up against the bedpost, watching silently.

Ari was studying her cards intently while Mokuba watched her over the top of his.

Finally, smiling, she picked one card out of her hand. Without bothering to lay it down, she turned it so Mokuba could see what it was. His jaw dropped, and she giggled.

"I win!" she said, winking.

"This is so not fair!" Kenta protested. "I started playing before you, but you're still able to get better at it in way less time!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm never going to be able to win against anyone now."

Ari laughed, gathering her cards into a neat little stack.

"Well, I'm done for today guys," she said, yawning as she stretched.

"Fine," Kenta agreed reluctantly as he lay down on the bed, his head supported by his arms. "So what do you guys want to do now?"

"I don't know," Ari replied, laying down with her own head on Kenta's back. "Normally, I would've suggested we go outside, or something, but we'd probably be cooked the second we stepped outside the door-"

"Wait, guys!" Mokuba interjected. "I've got an awesome idea!"

He turned, looking up at Seto with big eyes.

"Seto, do you think we could go in the pool?"

"Pool?!" Ari and Kenta said in unison.

Ari sat up and scrutinized Seto carefully.

"Are you telling me you guys have a pool?!"

Seto shrugged indifferently. "Yes, we do."

"And you never mentioned this before, _why_?!"

"You never bothered to ask," he stated simply.

Ari opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. He had a good point. The house was so enormous that she had to spend most of her time remembering which hallways led where. It hadn't even crossed her mind to ask about the parts she hadn't seen yet. Seto smirked as she sat back, pouting. Mokuba loooked up at his brother again.

"So, Seto, can we? _Please_!"

"Yeah, Seto," Ari chimed in. "_Please_!"

The older Kaiba shook his head, sighing. He was starting to wish he hadn't told her to call him by his first name after all. Now she was using it against him.

"Alright, we can go," he said.

"Awesome! Come on, Kenta!" Mokuba grabbed Kenta's arm, dragging him back to their rooms.

Seto smiled. Allowing Ari and Kenta to stay with them had certainly made his little brother a lot happier. The elder Kaiba was always busy with work, and could seldom find time to hang out with Mokuba. Having someone else his own age was good. They kept themselves entertained for hours, where as before, Mokuba had spent most of his time trying to get Seto to play with him. Without the younger Kaiba hanging off of him all the time, Seto was able to get a lot more done. Now and then Ari would help him as well, when it became apparent that he needed it. He would be on the phone, dealing with some incompetent underling who had made some stupid mistake, practically tap dancing on his last nerve and asking to be fired. When he had finally fixed the error, and had slammed the phone back into the receiver, he would turn to find all of his previously scattered papers in neat, organized piles. If he turned towards the door, he could usually see her just disappearing out the doorway. He supposed this was her way of trying to pay him back, even though he had told her it was unnecessary.

A sudden thump and curse brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Ari sitting on the floor, rubbing a rapidly reddening area on her cheek, as she struggled with the laces on her worn out tennis shoes. From the looks of it, she had been tugging at the stubborn ties with her teeth, and had consequently smacked herself in the face with the shoe. Seto felt a smirk tugging at his lips, and he didn't feel the need to crush it under his usual scowl. Ari caught his eye, then turned away, blushing furiously. Finally untangling the laces, she slipped the shoe onto her foot, then began to retie them.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, I, uh, need to go out for a little bit, is all," she said, keeping her eyes down.

"Hn. And why would that be?"

Ari looked up, the blush still faintly visible. "Well, you see, I don't exactly have a bathing suit."

"Ah, I see. That is a problem."

"Totally," Ari replied, shaking her head. "Kenta doesn't have one either, but he can just borrow one from Mokuba or something. I, unfortunately, don't have that luxury. I mean, if I borrowed one of _your _bathing suits, it would be embarrassing for all of us, if you catch my drift."

It took a minute to process what she had said, but after a minute, it finally clicked. He blushed a little as well, clearing his throat. "Yes, I, uh, -hm-, I see your point indeed."

She got up from the bed, making sure her shoes were tied tightly enough to keep them on her feet. She straightened her clothes, and started for the door. "I'll be back in a little bit," she told him as she walked by. "I'll get Roland to show me where the pool is, okay?"

Seto nodded. As she walked by, their arms brushed against each other. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to draw his eyes away from her. She seemed to be in a slowed down, dream-like state, and it made it hard for him to breathe.

He blinked, and everything was back to normal. Before he could say another word, she was gone. He put his hand against his forehead, checking to see if he had a fever. He had to be coming down with something. That could be the only explanation.

_Pf, you wish, _his inner self commented blandly.

Seto groaned, putting his hands over his face. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

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"Banzai!"

Seto closed his eyes as he was hit by yet another torrent of water. He and the two younger boys had been at the pool for about an hour. Mokuba and Kenta had found it amusing to take turns jumping into the pool and drenching the elder Kaiba, over and over. At first, he had flinched violently as the freezing water came in contact with his skin, but he was used to it, and could now more or less ignore it.

"Come on, Seto! Get in already!" Mokuba leaned against the edge of the pool, cocking his head to one side as he studied his brother. "You're soaking wet already, so just get in!"

Seto glared lightly at his little brother. "And who's fault is it that I'm soaked in the first place?"

Mokuba answered without missing a beat. "Yours. You didn't have to sit so close to the pool, and you could've moved after the first time we splashed you."

The elder Kaiba's glare intensified, and his brother disappeared under the water with a terrified squeak. With a triumphant smirk, he layed back in the lounge chair, cushioning his head with his arms. After he had gotten to the pool, he had finally been able to get his mind off of Ari. He still could not figure out why he hadn't been able to stop staring at her earlier, but he had temporarily pushed it aside. There would be plenty of time to worry about it later. For now, he was content to just lay in the sun, attempting to get warm between splash attacks.

Seto heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching from somewhere behind him. Thinking it was one of the maids coming to ask if any of them were hungry, or some such nonsense, he turned around, ready to send whomever it was away.

He stopped dead, his eyes widening slightly.

Ari was standing behind him a ways, blushing awkwardly. She was wearing a brown bathing suit that matched her hair almost perfectly. The top had thin straps securing it around her neck and back. what could be seen of the bottoms seemed to match the tops, but it was hard to tell. She wore a long cover skirt, like you would see girls at the beach wearing, loosely around her waist.

Even though she could tell Seto was staring, Ari couldn't bring herself to pull her eyes away from the ground. She wrapped her arms around her bare midriff protectively. She had always been a little uncomfortable about her appearance, and a bathing suit certainly didn't help at all. When she was younger, she had always worn a shirt and shorts overtop of her bathing suit, just to be safe. Now, though, under Seto's scrutinizing gaze, even a sweater wouldn't have helped.

Both of them just sat there in silence, until Kenta finally spotted them.

"Hey, Ari!" he yelled, waving enthusiastically. "Come on in, the water's great!"

Snapping out of her strange state, Ari's head snapped up to look at her little brother, happily swimming around in the glistening water.

"Um, okay, just give me a minute," she replied.

Hesitantly, she took off the cover skirt and set it on the chair next to Seto's. Just managing to keep his self-control, Seto cleared his throat.

"Something the matter?" he asked her, unable to keep a slight waver out of his voice.

Ari was too distracted to notice the CEO's change in behavior. She still held her arms around herself protectively. "I just don't really like wearing bathing suits. I hate having people looking at me when I'm wearing my street clothes, let alone something as revealing as this."

Seto blinked. He had never thought Ari to be the self-conscious type. After all, she didn't really have anything to be self-conscious about. She looked great.

_Wait...what?_

His inner self cackled with glee. _Now you're getting it!_

A sudden shriek brought him back to his senses. Apparently, Mokuba and Kenta had taken advantage of Ari's distracted state, and both had graced her with a wave of cold water.

"Y-you t-t-two are d-dead!" she stuttered, teeth chattering.

Without another word, she launched herself into the pool. The two boys swam away as fast as they could, laughing maniacly. Seto watched, smiling softly at the scene before him. All three of the pool's occupants were laughing, splashing, and dunking one another under the water's surface. He hadn't seen any of them this happy before, this relaxed. Even though things had been running more smoothly between Ari and himself, there had still been a slight tenseness. Watching her now, though, he could see no trace of it. She caught his eye for a moment, reflecting his smile before turning back on the two younger boys in the pool with her.

Seto sighed contentedly, laying back once more.

Everything felt perfect.

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The sun had sunk low on the horizon, casting an orange glow on everything. A few birds fluttered by, chirping happily as they flew home to their nests. Even things at the Kaiba mansion had calmed down. After hours of playing in the pool, the boys had sufficiently worn themselves out. Ari had begun to tire as well, and had taken to simply floating on the water's surface.

Finally, the three of them got out, wrapping their towels around themselves as they shivered in the light breeze. Seto opened one eye and looked at them.

"You three done?" he asked.

"Yeah," Mokuba replied. "We're gonna head back up to the house. You coming, big brother?"

Seto shook his head. "I'm going to stay here for a little while longer," he told them.

"Okay, see you in a little bit."

The three of them walked away silently, dragging their feet slightly.

Supressing a yawn, Ari turned to look at her younger brother.

"So, did you have a good time?"

Kenta looked up at her, a wide grin on his face. "You bet! I haven't had that much fun in forever!"

Ari smiled, and the comfortable silence descended again.

When they reached the house, Ari suddenly looked around, then swore softly.

"What's wrong?" Mokuba asked anxiously.

"It's nothing," she said, smiling reassuringly. "I just forgot my cover-up, is all."

She turned back towards the pool and began to jog back along the walkway.

"I'll be right back, guys!" she called over her shoulder.

She slowed down as she reached the pool again. Squinting, she shielded her eyes with her hand, looking for where she had set the long skirt. She stopped suddenly, her eyes focusing on the lone figure in the pool's waters.

Seto leaned up against the pool's edge, letting the water drift calmly around him. It _was _soothing, he had to admit.

"I thought you didn't want to get in," a voice said quietly.

He turned and saw Ari standing behind him, looking down and smiling. She sat down, dipping her feet back into the cool water.

"I didn't get in earlier because I would have probably been drowned by all of you," he replied cooly.

Ari grinned sheepishly. "Oh, we weren't that bad," she said, laughing nervously.

She kicked her legs idly, stirring the waters a little bit. No matter how hard she tried, she could never fully relax around Seto. She wasn't sure if it was because he was her boss, or just because she knew she could never repay him for all he had done, but she just couldn't.

"So, how come you came back?" he asked her.

Ari just kept studying the water. "Forgot my cover-up," she said simply, rolling her shoulders a little.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but after a while, she began to shiver again, goosebumps spreading up her legs.

"Come on, we better head back up to the house before we both catch colds," he said, lifting himself out of the water.

Ari gave a last kick, sighing softly as she retracted her limbs from the pool.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Throwing his towel around his neck, he tossed Ari her cover-up. She caught it, wrapped it firmly around her waist, and once again resumed her trek to her temporary home.

She never saw the slick spot on the ground.

Suddenly, her feet were sliding out from underneath her. The only thought that went through her mind was, _Well, shit._

She had closed her eyes, bracing for the impact, when she felt a pair of strong arms catch her shoulders.

Looking up, she found herself face-to-face with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen before. It felt like she was drowning, they were so intense. Absentmindedly, she reached up to brush away a wet lock of hair that tried to obscure her view.

Seto felt his breath hitch in his throat as Ari reached up and moved his bangs aside. Her fingertips lingered on the curve of his cheek, tracing it lightly. All of a sudden, it didn't seem quite so cold. Slowly, of their own accord, his hands let go of her shoulders, and one moved up to cover the hand on his cheek.

Ari gasped, pulling her hand away quickly. Blushing, she looked away, her eyes searching for something else to focus on.

"I, um...should go now," she said quietly. Turning as quickly as she could without slipping again, she began dashing towards the house, leaving Seto standing in her wake, speechless.

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Ari slammed her bedroom door behind her, panting heavily. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor, running her hands through her hair.

_What the hell just happened? _

Even when she had calmed down enough to catch her breath, she could not stop her heart from beating frantically. Burying her head in her arms, she tried to sort through her scattered thoughts.

_Get it together, Ari!_ she told herself firmly.

She took deep breaths until her heart had resumed its normal pace. A quiet knock caused her to practically jump across the room.

"Wh-who is it?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.

"It's Kenta," her little brother replied. "Come on, dinner's ready."

Ari froze. Dinner would mean seeing Seto again. She didn't think she was ready for that.

"Uh, you go ahead. I'm not hungry," she lied.

There was a pause, then his voice came from beyond the door again. "Alright, if you say so."

She listened intently until she could no longer hear his footsteps. Groaning, she flopped down onto her bed, gladly allowing the sheets to cool her heated skin.

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_Gasp, pant, wheeze Okay, I'm finally done. It took me forever to get this chapter finished, and I'm pretty sure it's the longest one yet._

_Now, I know the descriptions could have been better, but come on, we all know what a pool looks like. It's just a rectangular hole in the ground, filled with water. Lots, and lots of water, lol._

_I did kind of dragged it out when Ari went back to the pool for her cover up, but I couldn't really figure out how to make it last any longer._

_No complaining about the lack of descriptions for the duel. If I'm sitting here, writing a fanfiction, do you really think I would take the time to learn how to play the Yu-Gi-Oh card game? You're funny! Ahahahahahaha!_

_Oh, and as for Ari's bathing suit, message me if you want the link for a pic. The pic does not belong to me so please don't sue me for that either. _

_Alright, gimme good reviews, they motivate me to write faster. Remember, our goal is 7 until the next time, folks!_


	12. Late Nights

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, I'm proud of all of you. I got all the needed reviews in one night!_

_As we all know, in our last chapter, Ari and Seto had a little 'moment,' and so they're both sufficiently freaked out. What will happen next? No one knows, not even me. No, seriously, I'm making this chapter up as I go along._

_I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated in a while. I started this chapter a while ago, but then I had to get ready for my vacation. I went to Florida, visited relatives, and even got to go to DisneyWorld! Since I've been gone, I've officially turned 16 now. And I think my best present was getting a boyfriend! His name is Kyle, and he's been my best friend since middle school. Apparently, it was obvious to everyone but me that we were going to start going out, lol! Kinda like a cliche movie ending. Anyway, off we go again!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 12**

Seto lay in his bed with his eyes fixated to the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried, sleep refused to come.

He glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand and groaned. According to the display, he had been tossing and turning for almost five hours. Try as he may, he had been unable to get what had happened between him and Ari off of his mind. He felt like he had missed something in that moment, yet his mind just couldn't grasp it.

_I don't suppose you could offer me a hand in this? _he asked his inner self.

_Hmmmmmm, let me see, _it told him cheerfully, _I think...not! _The little voice cackled gleefully, and Seto could almost see it dancing for joy at his frustration.

Growling, he threw off his blankets, and began pacing the room like a caged tiger.

_What is it that I'm not getting? _he asked ferverently.

_What did I miss?_

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_What did I miss?_

Ari repeated the question to herself for the millionth time that night. No matter how many times she replayed the scene at the pool in her head, she still could not make heads or tails of it.

After a while, she gave up, and began to attempt to bore a hole in the ceiling with an intense glare.

She soon grew bored of that as well. She slid silently from under the covers and walked over to the window. She parted the curtains and looked wistfully at the scene before her.

The entire courtyard was bathed in light from the full moon above, making it as bright as day. A light breeze was blowing, causing the flowers to sway gracefully. The fountain was particularly beautiful. The water cascaded down like rain, shimmering like diamonds in the moonlight, before joining the pool of silver water below.

Ari suddenly felt like she was suffocating. She had to get out of the mansion, if only for a minute. She pulled a baggy blue sweatshirt out of one of the dresser drawers, tugging it down over her head as she peered into the hall. After she had made sure that the coast was clear, she walked quickly, but quietly, towards the stairs.

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Seto shut his laptop with a loud 'snap.' Even work was not enough to clear his mind this time. He rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes, almost willing sleep to come. Tomorrow was going to be hell if he was tired.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. He walked towards the bathroom, with the intent of drinking about a gallon of NyQuil. A flicker of movement outside his window caused him to stop. He growled his frustration, hoping for the gardener's sake that some kind of animal had found its way into the courtyard. The old man would probably snap if his precious flower beds were ruined.

When he looked out, however, he froze, his eyes widening.

_No way, _he thought to himself.

_This can't be happening._

He turned back towards the bedroom door, nearly tripping over his desk chair as he grabbed his trench coat, and walked briskly out into the hall.

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With a relieved sigh, Ari sat down on the lip of the fountain. After she took a few deep breaths of crisp, cool air, she felt worlds better. She was half tempted to dip her feet into the water, but the breeze was a little stronger now, and she would have gotten goose bumps. She stretched out her arms, letting out a gigantic yawn, yet she still felt wide awake. She idly swung her feet, listening to the rushes of air it created in the grass.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, she looked up, only to quickly look down again.

A few yards away stood Seto, arms crossed, watching her curiously. After a long silence, he spoke.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

Ari kept her eyes locked onto her feet, stubbornly refusing to meet his questioning gaze.

"I could ask you the same thing," she retorted sharply.

Seto hesitated for a moment.

"Look, I think we should...talk about what happened earlier."

"And I think we shouldn't," she said bitterly.

He rubbed a hand across his face, letting out a long sigh.

"Listen, I-"

"No, you listen!" she snapped, her eyes still fixated on the ground, "I have no idea what happened back at the pool! I've been wearing myself out thinking about it! I haven't even been able to get to sleep! So you can take your questions, and your 'I-had-better-get-an-answer-from-you-because-I'm-better' attitude, and get the _hell _out of here, because I'm sick of it! _Just leave me alone!_"

_Woah! You tell him, girl! _her inner self chimed in.

She breathed heavily, feeling as though the iron vice that had held her lungs so tightly had finally loosened.

After a final shuddering breath, she looked up at Seto hesitantly, expecting the worst.

He was simply staring at her, eyes wide and jaw slack. Ari gulped. This had not been what she was expecting.

"S-Seto?" she called tentatively.

Still no response.

_Oh, great! _she thought, groaning inwardly. _I broke Seto Kaiba!_

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Seto began walking towards her. Ari looked down at the ground again, closing her eyes tightly as she prepared for the onslaught that was sure to come. To her surprise, she felt him sit down next to her, their shoulders practically touching. When said shoulder began to shake, she was even more startled, and looked up through one cracked eye.

Both eyes flew open at what she saw.

Seto had one hand over his mouth, his eyes upturned in a smile, and he was...

_Laughing._

It wasn't a full out laugh, more of a light chuckle. But it was still warm, closer to a real laugh than anything Ari had heard from him before. His body shook a little as he tried to supress it. Now she was a more scared then before.

"A-are you okay?"

Seto let his hand fall to his lap, still chuckling just a little.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her, still smiling. "I think that's the first time anyone has ever said something like that to me. Well, Mokuba's come pretty close a couple of times. Still," he sighed, "that was a wake up call in the form of a bucket of cold water!"

"Look, I'm really sorry," Ari told him. "I'm just...oh, I don't know! It's just, everything is so confusing, and I haven't been able to get to sleep, and when I don't sleep, I'm not exactly the nicest person."

"Well, that makes you and me both," he said, looking up at the sky. "So, why did you come out here?"

Ari swirled her fingers in the water absentmindedly. "I just needed to get some fresh air, I guess. To help clear my head a bit."

Seto turned towards her, an inquiring look on his face. "Does it actually help?"

Ari laughed. "Yeah, it does. Haven't you ever tried it before? I mean, you have to run a whole company, so you have to have a lot of tough stuff to think through."

His brow furrowed, and his smile was replaced by a small frown. "I was always taught that no matter how hard the problem, you must always stay right where you are until you figure it out. You can let nothing distract you."

Seto's fists were clenched in his lap as memories of his stepfather's cruel teachings replayed in his mind. Anger began to well up inside of him, anger that he had only let out in small amounts before during his duels against Yugi, or the Mutt. Yet for some reason, it felt much stronger this time. Maybe it was the simple fact that he had been forced to figure things out the hard way, when there was a much simpler solution. Or maybe it was because he was under so much stress already. Either way, he was about to explode from the pressure.

A smaller, smoother hand covered one of his comfortingly. With a start, he opened his eyes, realizing that he didn't remember closing them. He turned once again to find Ari watching him, a worried expression masking all else. Seto suddenly felt bad for making her worry about him. He had already made her lose a good night's sleep.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "You look like you're about to punch someone in the face! Frankly, it's a little scary."

Seto smiled again. For some reason, he found himself smiling a lot more around Ari than he had since he was little.

"I'm fine," he told her. She lifted an eyebrow at him, silently challenging his answer. "I swear it on the life of my company!" he said, throwing up his free hand.

"Okay, okay, no need to get so drastic!" she replied, taking her hand off of his, using it to cover another yawn.

Her eyelids began to droop lower and lower as the minutes of comfortable silence went on. Suddenly, Seto was shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Hey, you ready to head back upstairs?"

"Mm-hm," she mumbled sleepily.

Seto helped Ari to her feet. As they walked back to the mansion, she bumped into him several times. Finally, he put a hand on her shoulder, helping her keep her balance while steering her to the door.

Ari was too drowsy to even realize that they had reached her room, let alone do more then collapse on the bed. With a relenting sigh, Seto pulled the covers over her as she fell deeper into unconsciousness.

"G'nigh', Seto," she murmured, unable to tell if he had heard or not.

He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind one of her ears. He absentmindedly stroked her cheek. "Sweet dreams," he whispered.

Ari smiled, snuggling further into the blankets as sleep finally claimed her.

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_Phew! Alright, finally done! You guys have no idea how long it took me to get this chapter together. Well, actually, you do, but that's not the point! The good thing is it's finally done!_

_Alright guys, I need some reviews and some new ideas of what could happen next!_

_Until we meet again!_


	13. A Perfectly Bad Day

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, since it was so long between my last two updates, I started working on this one as soon as my busy schedule allowed...which is now! Yay!_

_I was a little stuck on what to have happen in this chapter, and I did like the ideas I got from some of my reviewers, but when I was just messing around on my computer earlier, I had the best freakin' idea ever! So I decided to sit down and get to work!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 13**

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Ari rolled over, and gently smacking her alarm so its incessant chiming ceased. She sat up, running her fingers through her hair as her mind began wake and prepare for the day ahead.

Her memories from the day before began to resurface, as well as her little midnight excursion into the courtyard. Even though she and Seto hadn't gotten around to figuring out just what had happened between them, she felt more at peace than she was before their little talk. On top of that, it felt as though they had made some kind of connection. It was like there had been a thin wall between them before that neither one could see, and they had finally tore it down.

Walking over to the window, Ari threw open the curtains with enthusiasm, ready to greet the rest of the world. In the distance, she could see the sun, just breaking the horizon line. She felt a warm wave wash over, spreading from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

_Today's going to be a great day, _she thought as blissful smile spread across her face.

_I can feel it._

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Seto held the mug of coffee with both hands, allowing its warmth to seep into his skin. He took a small sip, making sure he didn't burn himself, as he ran through the day's agenda in his mind. He had to meet with some of his investors around eleven o'clock, then have lunch with the chief of productions so they could go over some figures. Other than that, it was going to be a pretty easy day.

As Seto walked into the kitchen, watching the maids readying for the day, one thought remained in his mind.

_Today's going to be a great day._

_I can feel it._

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Ima looked up when she heard the doors to the Kaiba Corporation open. She smiled as she watched Ari walking towards her, the look on her face saying she was ready to take on the world.

"You're here early today," she said, gently closing the book she had been reading.

Ari shrugged. "I woke up early today, so I figured, why not come into to work early and get some stuff done?"

Ima laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

"Alright, well, I'll see you after my shift then," Ari replied, waving as she headed off for the elevators.

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Seto tapped lightly on Ari's door, waited for a few moments, then pushed it open.

_That's odd_, he thought, gazing at the empty room. _She's usually still in here._

A note laying on top of the freshly made bed caught his eye, so he picked it up.

_Went to work early, had some stuff to get done. See you when I get back. -Ari_

Seto frowned. He had hoped to see her again before she left, just to make sure she was really okay, but it looked like that would have to wait.

He carefully folded that paper, slipped it into his pocket, and walked back out of the bedroom.

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Ari hummed quietly as she walked off the elevator. As she made her way to her desk, Kanaye spotted her, a mischievious smile spreading across her face.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite person in the whole wide world!" he said in a sickly sweet tone. "And how are you this fine morning?"

Ari stared at him for a minute, then mirrored his smile.

"I'm just swell!" she replied, imitating his tone perfectly.

Kanaye's smile faltered a little bit. "We'll see how long that lasts with me around!"

"Do your worst!" she challenged playfully. "Not even _you_ can ruin my good mood today."

She giggled when he childlishly stuck out his tongue at her, and sat down in front of her computer. Setting down the stack of papers she had been carrying in her shoulder-bag, she reached out to press the power button...but nothing happened.

Puzzled, she pushed the button again, this time holding it down for a couple of seconds.

Still nothing.

Pushing her chair back with a sigh, she peered under the desk. Everything was plugged in, there were no loosed wires or anything. Straightening up again, she turned the monitor around making sure everything was secure on both ends. Sitting back, arms folded across her chest, she eyed the aggravating problem that sat on her desk.

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Seto held his handsin front of him, the tips of his fingers lightly pressed together, as he vaguely listened to the man at the other end of the long table drone on and on about various improvements that could be made for the company's benefit. The meetings were only a formality; Seto already knew everything the man was telling him.

His attention, however, kept drifting off more than ususal. Most of what he started to think about didn't even relate to work at all. More than once, he found himself thinking about Ari. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anymore tension between them. For some reason, the thought of her not talking to him again scared him a little. He enjoyed their conversations. Even the little squabble they had had last night was welcome. She hadn't judged him immediately like so many others had, and he truly appreciated such consideration.

Drawing himself out of his thoughts, Seto tried to look like he was actually interested in what was being said, and failed miserably. Glancing up at the clock, he had to fight to supress a groan.

Only half of the speakers had gone up, and there were only ten minutes until the scheduled ending time. His whole schedule for the day would have to be set back.

Mentally sighing, he looked out of the window again, wondering what Ari was doing.

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"Just when I thought I was going to have a good day," Ari grumbled for the millionth time.

She had tried unplugging and replugging various wires, and had now resorted to hitting the computer over and over. This was getting really old, really fast, and Ari was _this_ close to hurting someone.

And the way things were going, that someone was probably going to be Kanaye.

"What's wrong, princess?"

His voice originated from right above her shoulder. She looked back at him with a scathing glare.

"Aw, now don't be like that! I was just coming over to see if you needed any help, but after that greeting, forget it!"

"I don't need your damn help anyway!" she snarled as he walked back to his desk.

Her stomach let out a low growl. Standing up and walking past a snickering Kanaye, Ari made her way towards the cafeteria. At this rate, she was only going to have time to get something from one of the machines.

As she waited for the elevator to reach her floor, she leaned back against the walk, trying to calm herself down. If she got the computer up and running when she got back, then she would still have enough time to get her work finished. The elevator doors opened up, and Ari stepped inside. Pressing the ground floor button, she vaguely wondered what Seto was doing.

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Ari looked over her many choices of snack food through the plexiglass front of the vending machine. Fishing around in her pocket, she pulled out a dollar bill and fed it into the machine. She punched in a couple of numbers and watched eagerly as the machine pushed a candy bar forward and...

Stopped.

"Oh, come _ON_!" she yelled. 

Lifting one foot, Ari kicked the machine into the wall hard enough to shake several of the doors that lined the hall.

She leaned so that her forehead was pressed against the cold front of the machine.

"Why me?" she wondered aloud.

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Seto walked silently back to his office. He had finished both meetings, but was now very far behind schedule. At this rate, it looked like he was going to be here all night. He was beginning to think he would be better off if he only held meetings that were absolutely crucial instead of hosting these monthly formalities. Because they had taken so long, he hadn't even been able to get something to eat. Not that he was particularly hungry, but it would have given him a short break, which he desperately needed.

Stopping in front of his desk, he saw a mountain of papers waiting for him.

Seto glared at the stack. Yet another set back in a long line of set backs today.

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Ari stood with her hands on her hips, eyeing the person who now occupied her desk.

"_What_ do you think you are _doing_?" she asked suspiciously.

Her computer's tower was now open, wires spread over the expanse of her desk. Kanaye was going over them with a practiced eye, smirking at her obvious annoyance.

"I'm trying to figure out how your hard drive got so badly fried," he stated simply. "The whole system is probably going to need to be replaced. There isn't anyway to salvage even a singly component."

Hearing a strange thumping noise coming from behind him, Kanaye turned around.

Ari was busy banging her head against the wall.

"Hey, hey! Calm down girly!" he laughed, his voice lightly veiled with concern as he pulled her back before she could really hurt herself. "It's not like the company doesn't have the money to replace its own equipment. Kaiba may be a jerk, but he's not that miserly."

Ari paused to glare at him.

"He's not a jerk!" she snapped. Kanaye jumped, a little startled.

"Right," he snorted. "You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart."

He stood up, stretching a little, and headed back to his own desk.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have my own work to do."

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Seto slammed the last piece of paperwork onto the desk. He had come to the decision that no matter what time it was, or how much work he still had left to do, he was going home now.

He stormed out of his office, ignoring his secretary as she stammered out some trivial request. At this point, he didn't care about anyone else's problems.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number for his limo, as he was obviously in no mood to deal with driving on a crowded road. As soon as he grabbed Ari, he was getting out of here.

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Seto pushed open the door's to the room where Ari worked. Several heads snapped up, and eyes widened as they saw who it was. He simply ignored them as he made a beeline for Ari, who was currently sitting with her head buried in her arms, surrounded by a mass of wires and papers.

Not feeling very sympathetic at the moment, he gave her shoulder a rough shake.

"_What_?!" she snarled, whirling around to face him.

Both of them stood glaring at each other for several seconds before Seto spoke again.

"I'm leaving now," he replied coldly. "You can come now, or you can walk all the way back to the mansion on your own."

"And I suppose that scary little look you're giving me is supposed to be intimidating me, huh?"

Glancing past him, Ari could see Kanaye waving frantically to get her attention before mouthing 'Are you insane?!' She ignored him and met Seto's cold gaze once again.

"Are you coming, or not?" he asked, the anger barely masked beneath his calm demeanor.

"Fine! I'm coming!" she replied, her own voice quavering with rage.

She snatched her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Both she and Seto walked out of the office at a brisk pace, leaving a trail of shocked employees in their wake.

Both of them continued on their path all the way to the elevator. When they entered, the tension was as thick as smoke. None of it dissipated as they stalked through the lobby and out into the waiting limo. Neither said a word as the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot, sitting as far apart as was physically possible at the time.

A few minutes later, the driver spoke up.

"Mr. Kaiba, there appears to be a traffic jam ahead. We will not be arriving at the mansion anytime soon."

His jaw clenched, Seto rolled up the window that seperated the cab and the back seats from one another. As soon as it was tightly sealed, he swore loudly, and slammed his fist against the window, coming close to cracking it.

Leaning back against the seat, he ran a hand through his hair. Glancing to his left, he saw Ari glaring wearily out the tinted glass..

Suddenly, Seto felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Just because his day had been horrible, he had no right to treat her like he had. Sliding over to her silently, he placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Ari turned towards him, confusion taking the place of the anger that had been there seconds before.

"For what?"

Seto sighed. "For being so inconsiderate back there. A few morons screwed up my entire day, and then I went and took it out on you."

Ari stared at him for a minute, then turned away, allowing her hair to hide her face from sight. Her lithe frame began to shake, and Seto was afraid she was crying. He reached over, brushed the hair away so it wasn't obstructing his view.

To his surprise, she was _laughing._

"And here I thought you would be mad at me for flipping our on you in front of everyone!" she giggled, turning towards him once more. "I didn't exactly have a perfect day either, and I just finally snapped."

Seto chuckled a little as well. The tension was gone, leaving a warm comfortable aura in its place.

"So this is what the inside of a limo looks like," she said, looking around in wonder. "Why don't you use it more often?"

"If I went around in a limo all the time, I would practically be begging the press to harass me twenty-four/seven," he stated dryly.

"Ah, I see," she replied. "Still, it's kind of cool."

Ari held up a hand to cover a yawn, and Seto lifted an eyebrow.

"Did you not sleep well?" he asked.

Ari shook her head. "It's not that I didn't...sleep well," she said, fighting off another yawn while her eyelids drooped. "I just didn't get that much of it. We were out...in the courtyard until 2:00...and I woke up...at 5:30. I guess it's...finally...catching up...with...me..."

Before he could turn to see why Ari's voice had faded off, he felt her slump against his side, already out cold. A few strands of hair fell across her face, tickling her nose. Seto brushed them back behind her ear.

His arm was uncomfortably wedged between his side and Ari. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he removed the arm, leaving himself with another problem; with Ari sleeping soundly against his side, his arm had only one place to go.

Hesitating for a moment, he tentatively draped his arm across her shoulders. This prompted her to unconsciuosly move closer, wrapping her own arms around his middle like he was some kind of giant teddy bear.

Seto's breath hitched, and he mentally debated on what to do. After a moment, he found that he actually didn't mind. Ari's warmth wasn't unwelcome; it was actually comforting.

Within a few minutes, he felt his own eyelids growing heavy.

For once, he didn't try to fight sleep as it overtook him.

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Mokuba ran out the door as soon as he saw his brother's limo. Seto had been using his limo less and less, as of late, and when he did, it was either because he was in a really good mood, or a really bad one.

With one look from the driver, he could tell it was the latter.

The young Kaiba cautiously opened the door just enough to peek inside the limo, and had to supress the urge to go 'awwwwwww.'

Both Seto and Ari were sitting in the back of the limo, fast asleep. Ari was still hugging Seto tightly, and Seto's arm had slid down so his hand was resting on her waist.

Stifling a giggle, Mokuba quietly shut the door, and ran back into the mansion.

"Now, where did I put that camera?"

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_Say it with me: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! X3 Fear the fluffiness! _

_Well, this chapter wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but it was still good, don't you think?_

_Anyway, more reviews and ideas please! Love you all!_


	14. Lullaby for a Stormy Night

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, I'm back with yet another chapter!_

_Before I begin, I would just like to address one of the reviews I got. It said that Seto was acting OOC. Just a reminder folks: this is a fan FICTION. It doesn't have to stay true to the characters' actual attitudes. As long as I say I don't own them, I can bend them to my will! So get over it!_

_Anyway, onto the story!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 14**

Ari stirred in her sleep. Her mind couldn't process exactly where she was, but she knew it was warm, so she snuggled closer to it's source.

Suddenly, she was aware that whatever was radiating the comforting warmth was breathing. For a minute, she thought that Kenta might have had a bad dream, and had crawled into bed with her.

Unfortunately, there were two facts that contradicted this theory:

One, whereever she was, it did _not _feel anything like a bed.

Two, whoever was next to her did _not_ feel like her little brother.

Ari opened her eyes blearily, blinking to clear her vision. To her surprise, she saw that she was still in the limo. Even more surprising was the fact that she had her arms around Seto.

With childlike fascination, she watched his chest rise and fall in sync with each quiet breath he took. His features were completely relaxed, giving her a much different image of him than the ice cold, nothing-but-business image he always portrayed himself as to the public. Without his coat on, Seto didn't look quite so sharp-edged and untouchable. Ari's eyes wandered girlishly over his lightly muscled arms, then back up to his face, lingering on his lips.

Blushing with embarassment at her own actions, she tore her gaze off of him, and attempted to pull away from him completely. Still fast asleep, the corners of Seto's mouth twitched into the semblance of a frown, and his grip on her waist tightened, pulling her firmly against his side once more. With no other option, and sleep clawing at her consciousness once more, she decided to overlook it for now. Leaning into his embrace again, she drifted back towards the realm of sleep.

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Seto did not wake in his usual manner, his mind automatically switching into work mode. No, this time, he woke slowly, as if still in a dream-like state. He opened his eyes blinking to clear the sleep from them. Realizing he was still in his limousine, he made a move to open the door, but was stopped by a weight on his side.

Remembering that Ari had fallen asleep against him, he quickly sat back against the seat, hoping he hadn't awakened her. Luckily, she was a sound sleeper and was not bothered by his sudden movements. For the first time, Seto noticed that his hand, previously situated on her shoulder, was now sitting comfortably on her waist.

As he contemplated whether or not to move it, a barely audible whimper met his ears. His brow creased, and he looked down at Ari, seeing a pained expression passing over her face. She unconsciously move closer to him, gripping his shirt tightly in her fingers.

_Is she having a nightmare?_ he wondered.

Another soft whimper confirmed his guess. Gently, he tightened his grip, bringing his free hand up to stroke her hair. After a moment he began to run his fingers through her soft, brown tresses, surprised at how soft they were.

Gradually, Ari's face smoothed over as she calmed down, her fingers unclenching. Seto heard her take a deep breath, and her eyes fluttered open again. She looked around sleepily for a few moments, before looking up at him. Seeing how close they were, she smile a little, blushing a deep crimson.

Before she could speak, Seto loosened his hold enough to get a proper look at her, his eyes steely as he searched her face.

"Have you been having nightmares?" he asked in a voice thinly veiled with concern. "Is that why you were so tired today?"

Ari's smile vanished in an instant. She quickly pulled herself out of his arms, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Ari."

"It's nothing, okay?" she snapped. "It's...nothing. I've dealt with it on my own before, and I can deal with it on my own now."

Her voice became extremely quiet as she finished her sentence., gathering her forgotten bag into her arms, holding onto it tightly.

"I don't need...any pity or anything. I've always been able to deal with this kind of stuff. And I've always had Kenta. He hasn't left, so...I'll be fine."

Ari sounded as if she was close to tears. Somehow, Seto was sure they weren't just talking about her nightmares anymore, but he decided that he would have to let it go for now. She would talk to him if, or when, she wanted.

"Come on," he said, making to open the car door again. "I don't know how long we've been in here, but Mokuba and Kenta are probably worried about us."

She followed him, still deathly quiet, eyes glued to the ground. As they walked into the main hall, Seto kept glancing at her. Her silence was really disturbing. It was an ominous silence. The kind that came right before the most destructive part of a storm hit. Or right before a killer took his first victim in a horror movie.

Before he could intrude upon the unbearable void, stifled laughter accented the air.

Seto looked up. Mokuba and Kenta sat on top of the stairs, watching their siblings with amused eyes.

"Look, Kenta! If it isn't the little lovebirds!"

Kenta giggled. "Aren't they adorable?"

Both boys burst out laughing, clutching at their sides.

"That's _enough_ out of you two!" Seto snapped.

With a squeak of fear, they both ran off, their laughs echoing throughout the halls.

Seto shook his head. "I swear, those two will be the death of me, but what can you do?"

The last part he directed at Ari, but didn't even give any indication that she had heard him. As silent as ever, she walked up the stairs and down the hall, obviously intent on getting to her room.

Seto merely watched, his face a mixture of concern, sadness, and his usual emotionlessness.

Hopefully, Ari would perk back up when dinner time came around. After all, she hadn't had anything for lunch, so maybe her hunger was just catching up with her. She was probably just hungry.

At least, he hoped that was all.

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Kenta and Mokuba both walked into the dining room, chatting happily. Seto was already sitting down at the table, his own food untouched. Though the smell coming from the plate was mouth-watering, he had restrained himself.

_You just didn't want to eat without Ari, _his inner voice teased.

For once, Seto didn't reply, for it was actually very close to what he had been thinking. He had wanted to wait for Ari, who usually arrived just before the boys, but was now nowhere in sight.

"Kenta, where's your sister?"

Kenta shrugged. "I went to get her for dinner, but she said she wasn't hungry," he replied, picking up his fork. "She looked really tired, so I think she's gonna go to bed early or something."

Seto frowned. It wasn't like Ari to skip a meal, even if she was falling asleep in her food.

Without a word, he picked up his plate, along with the one that had been prepared for Ari, and walked out of the dining room, leaving two curious teenagers in his wake.

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Seto tapped lightly on the door with his foot, seeing as how his hands were full.

"Ari?" he inquired softly.

There was no answer.

Luckily, it was slightly ajar, so he was able to shoulder it open.

Ari was curled up on the bed, her back towards his, and, to all appearances, asleep. Seto approached her quietly, gently setting the plates down on the bedside table, before sitting next to her on the bed. After a moments hesitation, he reached out to give her a little shake, his hand hovering over her shoulder, when she suddenly spoke.

"I'm awake," she said, turning over to face him.

"I brought you some food," he replied, gesturing towards the two plates.

She shook her head, causing a soft rustling noise against the pillow. "I'm not hungry."

"Come on, you have to eat something," he urged.

"I'm not hungry," she repeated. "Just tired."

"Then why don't you get some sleep?" he asked.

An almost invisible flicker of fear crossed her eyes, and she gripped the comforter in one of her hands. Seto felt his stomach clench.

"This is about the nightmares again, isn't it?"

The fear grew a little, the green orbs trembling as she tightened her grip.

"Whenever Kenta had nightmares," she began slowly, quietly, "I would let him sleep in my room. But I can't ask the same from him. I'm the big sister. I'm the one that has to be strong."

Seto nodded. "I can understand that train of thought. It's the same way with me and Mokuba. But it's a big burden to carry. It can't hurt to rely on others sometime, even just a little bit."

Ari drew herself up into a sitting position. Pulling her knees against her chest, she stared at him, head cocked to one side slightly.

"...What?" Seto finally asked.

Ari smiled. "You always act so tough and mean at work, and whenever you have to appear for the public. But then you let out little bits of kindness when I'm around. I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"For letting me see that softer side," she told him. "I'm really glad you trust me that much."

"Well, you're an easy person to trust. For some reason, it's not that hard to let down those defenses when I'm near you. You're a lot like Mokuba; you don't judge people based on first impressions."

A low growl interrupted their conversation, and Ari clutched her stomach.

"Well, I guess I am hungry after all!" she laughed.

Seto shook his head and passed her one of the plates that were still sitting on the table, grabbing the other one for himself.

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Ari sat back against the pillows, patting her stomach and sighing contentedly.

"That was _good."_

Seto nodded in agreement.

"The cooks really outdid themselves."

"I'll say."

Seto picked up both of the plates carefully. "I'd better take these back downstairs," he said, standing up.

"M'kay," she replied sleepily.

He frowned. "_You_ get some sleep. You definitely need it."

Ari looked away, avoiding his gaze.

_Comfort her, dumbass!_ his inner self hissed.

Setting the plates down once again, he walked over to Ari's side of the bed. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, gently turning it up so she would look at him.

"Just promise me that you'll at least _try_? Seto asked, a hint of pleading in his otherwise stoic voice.

Ari smiled at him crookedly. "I'll try."

Seto felt something stir inside of him. A warm feeling spread from his head to the very tips of his toes. His eyes were transfixed on her face, and soon her cheeks began to heat up under his intense gaze. Lightly, he brushed his thumbs across the pink-tinged skin, which was quickly becoming red. He had to admit, she was cute when she blushed. Hesitating for a moment, then leaned forward.

Cautiously, almost timidly, Seto pressed his lips to Ari's forehead.

Ari remained absolutely still. She was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, afraid to even think, lest he hear her every thought.

After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality was only a few seconds, he pulled away. For a moment, their eyes met.

Then Seto looked away, a faint blush adorning his own face. He removed his hands from her face as if was on fire, which it practically was at this point. He mumbled what sounded suspiciously like an apology, before picking up the once again forgotten plates and hurrying out of the room.

As soon as the door snapped shut, Ari released the breath she didnt' realize she had been holding the entire time. She sat there on her bed, dazed and confused. Was this how Seto had felt after the incident at the pool.

Slowly, she raised her hand to her face, lightly touching the spot where his lips had been moments before, then let her hand fall to rest on the spot above her heart. It beat wildy in her chest, as if it was trying to escape the prison that her ribs created.

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Seto sat in his room, head in his hands as he tried to reign in his own heart. After he had left Ari's room, he had quickly handed the plates to a passing maid, all but ran to his own room and locked the door.

Now his emotions had formed a raging hurricane that was now reaking havoc inside his mind and body.

Every emotion was swirled into one. Anger, fear, sadness, happiness, and...

Something he couldn't name.

Some kind of foreign emotion that seemed so alien, yet so familiar at the same time.

It whispered its own name in the back of his mind, desperate to be heard, yet danced out of his reach when he tried to grab hold of it.

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Ari wasn't sure how long she sat there, lost in thought, but by the time she looked up, rain had begun to slide down the panes.

A little startled that she hadn't noticed the rain starting, she watched quietly as the individual drops followed their own twisting paths down the glass, merging into larger drops when they happened to meet, splitting apart at random spots as if they had run into invisible blades, continuing to the bottom edge of the smooth surface, only to begin yet another long fall, this time all the way to the ground below.

There was a bright flash of lightning, cutting a jagged wound across the dark sky. It was quickly followed by the rumble of thunder, so much like the growl of some terrible, ancient beast.

While most people were afraid of these wonders of nature, as Ari had once been when she was small, she now only smiled at them. Even though these noises had accompanied the destruction of her home, they still brought back memories.

Memories that wiped away her current worries.

Happy memories.

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_-14 years ago-_

_"Ari? Ari, what's wrong, baby?"_

_A woman with long, flowing, black hair and kind eyes sat down on a bed, next to a quivering lump of blankets. As a loud crash sounded, the bundle jumped, then curled up even tighter._

_"Are you afraid of the storm?" Ari's mother asked._

_"Mm-hm!" came Ari's muffled reply._

_Smiling, the woman pulled back the protective layers, gently drawing the child into her arms._

_"You know, I used to be afraid of storms, too."_

_Ari looked up at her mother, curious eyes still wide with fear and bright with unshed tears._

_"R-really?" she asked._

_"Uh-huh," the woman replied seriously. "But you know what my mother used to do for me?"_

_"What?" Ari asked._

_"Well, she always used to sing me this one song."_

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The memory of her mother's beautiful voice brought tears to Ari's eyes once again.

She had loved it when her mother sang. It had always calmed her down when she was upset and she had often fallen asleep to the angelic sound.

As the rain continued to fall, Ari hummed to forgotten tune to herself.

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A loud crash sounded outside, and Mokuba jumped a foot off his bed, scattering the cards that were part of his current duel with Kenta.

"Jeez, Mokuba! That's the fifth time you've done that!" the other boy stated exasperatedly.

Kenta gathered up the cards, attempting to put them back in their proper places. He looked up to find Mokuba staring at the window intently. As the lightning flashed again, the younger Kaiba jumped off the bed completely, landing on the floor with a yelp.

Kenta scrambled over to check on his friend.

"Dude, are you okay?" he asked.

Mokuba rubbed the back of his head. "I think so."

"What's up with you? You keep freaking out everytime there's even a tiny bit of lightning or thunder. I mean, it's like you're..." He blinked in sudden understanding.

"You're afraid of the storm, aren't you?"

Mokuba sat up, keeping his face hidden as he nodded.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kenta pulled his friend to his feet and proceeded to drag him out of the room.

"Kenta! What the heck are you doing?!"

"Just come with me."

"Where are we going?!"

"We're going to see Ari," he replied simply.

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Ari heard the commotion coming from outside her room, and turned to see Kenta come through the door, dragging somewhat reluctant Mokuba behind him.

"You two okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Kenta said cheerily. "We just wanted to make sure you weren't freaked out over the storm.

Ari and Mokuba just stared at him.

"Kenta, you know storms haven't afraid of storms in years," she said, just as lightning flashed outside again.

Before Ari could even blink, Mokuba had lept onto the bed, hiding his head under the pillows.

Finally understanding, Ari smiled, winking at her brother.

Gently, she sat down on the bed, placing a hand comfortingly on the younger Kaiba's back.

"You know, I used to get scared when it stormed when I was younger," she told him, pulling away the pillow that hid his face.

Carefully, she draped an arm over his shoulders, pulling him close.

"My mother had this song that she used to sing to me, and it always helped."

Kenta crawled over the bed to curl up against her other side. "Do you think you can sing it for us, sis?"

Ari closed her eyes, recalling the harmonious lyrics and melodies. "I'll try."

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Seto didn't so much as blink when the explosion-like lightning came from the skies.

Suddenly, his head snapped up.

While he had been busy being immersed in his own thoughts that he had overlooked one important fact:

His little brother feared storms, and he was probably all by himself in his room, cowering in fear.

Immediately, Seto was dashing out the door, walking at a brisk pace down the hall.

As soon as he got to Mokuba's room, he threw open the door.

His brother was nowhere to be seen.

Seto tried Kenta's room next.

That, too, was deserted.

And the only other place Seto knew they could be was the one place that he wanted to avoid for the moment.

But he was willing to do anything for his beloved little brother, so with dread in his heart, he headed back to Ari's room.

As he drew closer to her room, he heard several voices coming from inside.

Seto silently opened the door just a crack. There, huddled together on the bed, sat Ari, Mokuba, and Kenta.

"Do you think you can sing it for us, sis?" Kenta asked.

Ari closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the headboard. "I'll try."

She took a deep breath, and began to sing.

"_Little child, be not afraid_

_The rain pounds harshly against the glass_

_Like an unwanted stranger_

_There is no danger_

_I am here tonight._"

Seto stood outside the door, just as entranced by Ari's voice as the two younger boys were.

"_Little child, be not afraid_

_Though thunder explodes and lightning flash_

_Illuminates_

_Your tear-stained face_

_I am here tonight._"

Ari's voice lifted an octave as she began the refrain.

"_And someday you'll know_

_That nature is so_

_The same rain that draws you near me_

_Falls on rivers and land_

_On forests and sand_

_Makes the beautiful world that you see_

_In the morning._"

She paused for a moment before continuing, voice low again.

"_Little child, be not afraid_

_The storm clouds mask your beloved moon_

_And its candlelight beams_

_Still keep pleasant dreams_

_I am here tonight._

_Little child, be not afraid_

_The wind makes creatures of our trees_

_And their branches to hands_

_They're not real, understand_

_And I am here tonight._"

Seto listened with rapt attention as Ari sang on. Her voice was so beautiful that he wished he could silence his own heart, just so he could hear the beautiful melody more clearly. Mokuba and Kenta had already begun to drift off.

Ari's voice dipped into a mere whisper, and Seto had to strain to hear her.

"_For you know..._

_Once even I was a..._

_Little child..._

_And I was afraid..._

_But a gentle someone always came_

_To dry all my tears_

_Trade sweet sleep for fears_

_And to give a kiss goodnight._

_Well now I am grown_

_And these years have shown_

_That rain's a part of how life goes_

_But it's dark and it's late_

_So I'll hold you and wait_

_'Til your frightened eyes do close._"

Ari hummed the last verse, hugging the two sleeping boys closer to her. After a moment, she looked towards the door.

"You can come in if you want."

Feeling a little embarrassed at being caught, Seto opened the door all the way. "How did you know I was there?"

"To be honest I guessed. Whenever I end up in the same room as these two, you're never far behind."

"Am I really getting that predictable?"

Ari chuckled. "For me you are."

"And you're the exact opposite."

Ari blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked, a little louder than she intended.

Mokuba stirred, mumbling unintelligbly in his sleep.

Carefully, Ari removed herself from between the two sleeping figures, drawing the blanket up over them. She grabbed Seto's arm and dragged him out of the room, flicking the light switch off, before shutting the door and releasing him.

"What do you mean?" she asked again.

Seto collected his thoughts for a moment before he began. "You said that I keep getting more predictable for you. But in my case, you just get more confusing. Just when I start to think I've got you figured out, you do something completely unpredictable, like dragging me out here. I mean, you seemed completely content just staying in your room, but you still got up just to talk to me. I honestly did not see that coming."

Ari began to laugh quietly, and Seto frowned. "What's so funny?"

"You," she giggled. "Apparently no one told you; we girls live to confuse members of the opposite sex."

Seto shook his head. "That may be true, but you're still different somehow. I don't know what it is, but you confuse me more than a lot of other women I've met. I meen, I can even understand that friendship-obsessed girl that always hangs out with Yugi. But you...I just don't get you."

"Is that so?" she asked quietly, head tilted to one side.

Before he even had a chance to stop himself, he had raised his hand halfway to her face, as if he was going to stroke her cheek again, but he caught himself. He dropped his arm again, letting it hang lifelessly at his side once more.

A semi-awkward silence descended on them. It was a few moments before Ari could gather the courage to speak again.

"Well, I guess I better find something to do," she finally said, laughing nervously. "I don't think I'll be getting any sleep with those two taking over my bed."

Seto blinked, a little surprised at the sudden change in topic. "I suppose you're right. So, what do you plan on doing?"

Ari looked thoughtful for a moment, before letting a wide grin spread across her face.

"How about a we go downstairs and find a good movie?"

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A while later, both of them found themselves sitting on the couch in front of T.V. as their chosen movie played.

Unfortunately, Seto seemed unable to grasp what was happening and Ari had to keep explaining it every five minutes.

"Wait, I thought Taira was in love with Tansei."

Ari sighed. "Alright, look, this is the last time I'm going to go over it. Tansei went to the train station where Taira worked every day on the way to his job. Since she got to see him all the time, she began to fall in love. On one day, he slipped and fell onto the train tracks and was knocked unconsciuos. Taira jumped down and saved him. When he was taken to the hospital, they wouldn't let her go into the back with him. When one of the nurses was walking by, she overheard Taira saying she had been going to marry Tansei some day, so the nurse believed she was his fiance. The family was so grateful to her for saving his life, and so happy that he was going to 'marry' her, so they invited her to their home for Christmas. While she was there, Taira met Tansei's brother, Ikasu, and they began to fall in love with each other."

"Oh." Seto still didn't get it.

Ari had found the movie among the few things she had salvaged from her house. It was an older movie, one that her mother had said she would be able to appreciate when she got a little older. The woman had been right, of course, and Ari was now completely absorbed in the lives of the characters as they went through their complicated lives. She didn't even notice herself gradually scooting closer to Seto. As the plot thickened, and a new, more devious character appeared, she gripped his arm, staring intently at the screen.

When Seto looked down and saw Ari holding onto him, he had a sense of deja vu as the warm feeling from before washed over him once again. He turned his attention back to the movie, so he could attempt to follow the storyline.

As it drew to a close, all conflicts settled, and the protagonist happy once more, Seto turned to Ari to ask her just how it had happened again. He found that she had once again fallen asleep against him, eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face, as if she knew all had turned out well.

Gently, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over her prone form, smiling as she snuggled closer.

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_Okay, I know it's seems kind of dumb, to have Ari fall asleep near Seto again, but you know it's adorable!_

_The song mentioned earlier was 'Lullaby for a Stormy Night' by Vienna Teng, which I don't claim to own. You can find it on so just go look it up. _

_The movie that I mentioned was 'While You Were Sleeping.' All I did was change the characters names, I don't own this either. It is really an awesome movie, though. Check it out sometime._

_This chapter was originally two chapters, but I decided to combine them since I had already made you guys wait so long._

_Anyway, time for school, gotta go!_


	15. Gratitude

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Hello again, my faithful readers. It's your good friend, the Twilight Imp, back with yet another chapter of your favorite fanfiction and mine. _

_Please read the end of chapter rant, because there will be some important announcements._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Chapter 15**

When Ari awoke and found that she had fallen asleep against Seto again, she had blushed crimson before quickly excusing herself from the room.

Seto was a little upset, seeing as how they hadn't really gotten the time to talk, but to his surprise, she waited until he was ready to go to work, instead of rushing off in her usual fashion. He watched her out of the corner of his eye the entire ride. She seemed to be a bit more lively than the day before, so he assumed she had gotten a good, nightmare-free sleep.

When they got to Kaiba Corporation, and Ari had gone off to her office, he felt a strange tightening in his chest, but he simply dismissed it temporarily so he could focus on his work.

He had barely sat down at his desk when his flighty little secretary poked her head through the door.

"Mr. Kaiba, there's a Mr. Sashimi here to see you."

"Send him in," Seto replied, opening his laptop.

The woman left, and a moment later a rather man with a large smile, and an even larger body, entered.

"Seto Kaiba!" he boomed. "How are you, my boy?"

Seto smirked. Matamura Sashimi was a very agreeable man. It didn't take much to like him, even for a supposedly cold-hearted business man like himself.

"Matamura, it's been a while," he said, reaching out to shake the man's fleshy hand.

"Well, you know how it is; busy, busy!"

Mr. Sashimi ran an electronics company that supplied Kaiba Corporation with most of the components that they used to construct their technology, so if one of them was busy, it was only natural that the other was, too.

"So, how's that little brother of your's?"

"Mokuba's is doing well, as always."

"Of course he is. Sometimes I think you take care of that boy better than you take care of yourself," Mr. Sashimi chuckled.

"You may be right. Anyway, what brings you here?" Seto asked as they both sat down.

"Well, actually, I wanted to ask you something," the man replied. "My company is having its annual grand ball in about three weeks, and I figured I'd try and get you to come."

Seto sat back and sighed.

"Matamura, we've been through this before; I'm not exactly a fan of large, social gatherings."

"Oh, come now, Seto! It'll be a blast! There's music, and food, and if you're lucky, maybe you'll find yourself a girlfriend!"

"Matamura-" Seto began to warn his old friend.

"Oh, come on, boy! You're in the tail end of your teen years, and you've never even dated once! In a couple of years, you'll be ripe and ready to start a family! But you've got to get out there and find a girl you like first! Otherwise you'll just end up miserable and alone and-"

"If I say I'll come, will you _shut up_?!" he snapped, his patience hanging by a mere thread.

Mr. Sashimi smiled again. "Then I plan on seeing you there."

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Seto slammed the door shut, storming into his mansion and directly up the stairs. He still couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to be talked into going to some stupid party. He hated any large gathering that didn't involve either his company or Duel Monsters. Parties were a particular pain for him. Most of the time, people would just end up trying to become all buddy-buddy with him, hoping for some kind of favor in return. There was always someone who wanted an autograph, and at least one woman that attempted to seduce him. It was annoying as hell, to say the least.

As he sat in his room, fuming silently, Mokuba came in, sitting down on the large bed.

"What's wrong, big brother?"

"Nothing."

"Bull crap! You're practically giving off steam, so don't give me that 'I'm not angry' junk!"

As per usual, Seto found himself astonished at his younger brother's perception and bluntness.

"It's about Mr. Sashimi's big dance thing, isn't it?

"How did you-"

"Because he invites you every year, you refuse and come home mad because he keeps calling you to try and convince you to come."

Mokuba cocked his head to one side. "But you seem madder than usual, which can only mean that he got you to agree to go this time."

The elder Kaiba sighed. "I just wanted Matamura to stop nagging me about it. I figured if I go, he'll get a first-hand account of how much I _loathe_ these types of gatherings, and he won't invite me again."

Mokuba picked at the sheets absentmindedly. "You know, you could actually have some fun if you took someone along with you."

"Mokuba, I've told you before, I can't take you with-"

"I meant Ari," he interjected softly.

Seto's words died in his throat.

"She probably hasn't had the opportunity to go to a really nice party like this one, and I'm sure she'd have a blast. And from what I've seen, your always in a better mood when she's around, so it'll be a win-win situation."

He slid off the bed and began to walk out of the room, pausing at the doorway.

"Just give it a little thought, okay?"

And with that, he was gone.

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Ari leaned back in her chair, slowly stretching her stiffened muscles to work the kinks out of them. All the work she had today had been paperwork, so she had decided to leave a little earlier and bring some of it home. After all, working in the comfort of her room seemed alot more apealing than working in her office, where people were constantly glancing at her, whispering fiercely when they thought she was out of earshot. She knew it had to be about her outburst the day before. Even Kanaye avoided her, which caused an uncomforable weight to settle on her chest. Despite all his teasing and taunting, she still considered him a friend, and his sudden indifference hurt.

A soft knock on the door called her back to reality.

"Come in," she called.

Seto came through the door. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his eyes were hard. Ari was instantly set on edge.

"What's wrong?"

She could see his trim jaw working back and forth underneath the skin as if he was mulling something over in his mind.

"Seto, is something-"

"Just give me a second," he interrupted.

He took a few slow, controlled breaths through his nose, mustering as much courage he could.

"Have you heard of the Sashimi Electronics Company?"

Ari hesitated. "I've heard it mention. All I know is that it's one of Kaiba Corporation's biggest suppliers."

Seto nodded. "Not only is the Sashimi Electronics Company important to Kaiba Corporation, but the president and CEO, Matamura Sashimi, is...somewhat of a friend of mine."

Waving his hand dismissively, he continued. "Anyway, every year, he holds this..._party_ of sorts, and this year, he was able to 'persuade' me to go."

"Sounds like fun."

Seto's mouth twitched.

"The truth is, I don't really want to go. But there's no way in hell Matamura is going to let me back out of this."

"So you've gotten yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, huh?"

"Basically."

Seto began pacing back and forth. "Anyway, I thought that-possibly-in order to make this a more bearable experience-and this is only a suggestion, I don't expect anything-but, maybe, you could...go with me?"

He kept his back to Ari and waited with baited breath for her reply.

Ari was absolutely stunned. She opened and closed her mouth several times, like a fish, but no words would come out. Her throat felt as dry as parchment, and her heart was going berserk.

"You want _me_ to go with you?" she finally squeaked.

"Yes," he replied, still keeping his gaze averted.

"Seto, I...I can't."

There was nothing but silence for a few minutes.

"I see," he siad sharply, turning to leave.

Ari quickly grabbed him by the wrist, stopping his exit. He looked back at her, confused.

"It's...it's not that I don't _want_ to go. I just...don't think I would fit in. Everyone there is going to be all high-class and sophisticated, and I'm so...plain. And I wouldn't even have anything to wear."

A gentle hand slid under her chin and forced her to look up into Seto's eyes.

"_You _are _not_ plain," he stated firmly. "_You_ are _beautiful_."

Ari blushed from head to toe. "You're just being nice," she whispered, feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

"No, I'm not," he retorted. "I'm telling the honest truth. You _are_ beautiful, and I _want_ you to go with me. You'll fit in just fine, trust me. As for something to wear, I can buy you a dress."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Ari cried, tearing her gaze away from him. "You just can't! You've already done so much for me! I can't let you do this! I just ca-"

Seto's arms sudenly wrapped around her, pulling her flush against his chest, and Ari was once again left breathless. They were now so close that she was no longer sure if it was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears or his.

"I want to do this for you," he said quietly, "And I want you to come with me. _Please_?"

His arms tightened ever so slightly. Though his voice was steady, she could feel him trembling ever so slightly, and she could hear that he was holding his breath again.

Ari closed her eyes, mentally bracing herself.

"I'll go."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Seto relaxed a bit. He dropped his chin to rest in her hair, gently breathing in her scent.

She cleared her throat. "Um, you can, uh, let go now."

Reluctantly, he withdrew his arms, releasing her form his hold.

"Sorry."

"No harm done," she said, desperately trying to quell her blushing. "Well, I guess that only leaves one other thing for me to do."

"What?"

"Well, I assume that there's going to be dancing at this party, and if I don't want to look like an awkward idiot, then I need to learn to dance." Ari sighed wearily. "Do you mind if I borrow your cellphone?"

Seto reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and handing it to her.

"Who are you calling?"

Ari grimaced as she punched in the numbers.

"An old friend."

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In a dance studio across town, a phone began to ring. The lithe young woman at the front desk answered it.

"Hello, Sayato School of Dance, how may I help you?"

She paused, listening to the person on the other end.

"Yes, she's Laine is here. Just one moment, I'll get her."

The woman put a hand over the receiver as she shouted across the room.

"Hey, boss! There's a girl on the phone named Ari who's asking to talk to you."

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Ari winced, holding the phone at arm's length as an excited scream was emitted from the other end.

**"Is that really you, my litte Ari-chan?"**

"Yes, Laine, it's me. Now can you please stop yelling?!"

**"Oh, you can't blame me! I haven't heard from you in **_**ages**_**! How have you been?"**

"Fine, fine. I've been getting by."

**"Gods, I haven't seen you in forever! You simply must come down to my studio, I insist!"**

"Well, that's actually what I was calling about. You see, me and this..._friend_ of mine kind of need lessons, so I was hoping-"

**"Of **_**course**_** I'll teach you. And I can't wait to meet this little boyfriend of yours!"**

"Laine!" Ari cried indignately.

**"**_**Whaaaat**_**?! Sweetheart, you needed a guy, no need to be embarrassed."**

"Just drop it, Laine!"

**"Alright, alright, sheesh! So, anywho, about your dance lessons, how does every weekday after five, and Saturdays at ten sound?"**

Ari covered the receiver and relayed the message to Seto.

"Okay, that sounds good."

**"**_**Hooray!**_** I can't believe I'm actually gonna get to see you again! I expect you over here tonight, no excuses! See ya' soon!"**

There was a resounding click from the other end, signaling that Laine had hung up.

Ari sighed, handing Seto back his phone. "I swear, she never changes."

"She sounds like quite the character," he replied, shaking his head.

"Come on, we've got about an hour until we have to leave."

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Ari could have spotted the Sayato school from miles away. Every little detail screamed of Laine's influence, from the structure of the building, to the menagerie of flowers that were growing unchecked in the front.

The outside of the building had the look of a traditional Japanese manor. It even had the sliding paper doors, though Ari knew there would be normal doors just behind them.

Looking behind her, Ari had to suppress a laugh.

Seto looked completely out of place amidst so many bright colors.

Before she could tell him to relax, a blond-haired blur tackled her, pulling her into a strangling hug.

"I've missed you sooooooooooooooooooooooooo _much_ Ari-chan!" Laine squealed, tears of joy running down her face.

Ari was positive she heard several of her bones snap as the other girl tightened her already vice-like grip.

"Laine!" she gasped, desperately trying to break free. "Laine, leggo of me already!"

"Okay, okay!" Laine released Ari, and immediately began scanning the surrounding area. "Now where's your little boyfriend? I'm just dying to meet-" Her bright blue eyes fell on Seto. "-him?"

The color drained from her face. With a frightened squeak, she ran back inside, slamming the door shut. The sound of several locks being turned could be heard from the other side.

"Laine?!" Ari stalked forward, pounding against the door with her fist. "Hey, let us in!"

"When hell freezes over!"

"What is _wrong _with you?"

"Are you kidding me?! Are you _freakin'_ kidding me?! Ari, that's Seto _friggin'_ Kaiba! He's probably planning on buying me out and turning this place into some kind of Duel Monsters amusement park! I won't allow it! I won't give up without a fight!"

There were several strange scraping and sliding noises from inside. Ari had a strong suspicion that Laine was barricading the door with furniture.

"_Ahahahahaha!_ Just try to get me now!"

"Laine, come on! You're acting completely ridiculous!"

"I don't care!"

"He's not going to shut you down, I swear!"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Ari sighed. "How about I promise you my eternal servitude if he does?"

Silence. Then the noises began again. A few seconds later, Laine was poking her head out the door.

"Promise?"

"On my life."

"Alright," the blonde growled, mumbling to herself about how much of a pushover she was.

Seto had simply stood and watched the entire scene play out, staying out of the way while Ari calmed her friend down.

"Yo, Dragon-boy!"

Seto looked up. Laine was now directing her attention at him, hands on her hips.

"Get your ass up here, before I change my mind!"

Ari shot him an apologetic look over Laine's shoulder as he followed them into the building. The two girls walked in front, chatting about old times.

After they had walked and turned down several different hallways, Laine stopped in front of a large ornate door.

"Now, may I present to you, the pride and joy of the entire school!"

She threw open the doors with a fluorish, and Ari had to hold back a gasp. The room was absolutely beautiful. The polished wooden floors practically glowed as they reflected the afternoon sunlight that streamed in through the tall windows that made up an entire wall. The ceiling was covered in paintings of majestic dragons, all twining themselves through the clouds and around each other. A large stereo sat in the corner, plugged in and ready to go.

"This," Laine began, "is where you will be taking your dance lessons."

She laughed, flashing them a victory sign with her fingers. "From this moment on, when you are here, you will refer to me as Sayato-sensei!"

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"Okay guys, that's it for today."

"Thank _God_!"

Ari slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. Seto looked a little winded, and he had discarded his trench coat, but other than that, he looked normal.

"And just think; we get to do this everyday for almost 3 weeks!" Laine said in an enthusiastic sing-song voice.

"_Or_ I could go home and chew my arm off," Ari offered.

"Calm down. You won't feel a thing after a few days."

Ari groaned, rubbing her hands over her calf muscles. "Well, I'm feeling it now!"

Laine sighed. "If you're gonna bitch about it, then go into my office. I've got some ice packs in the freezer of my mini-fridge."

"Sounds like a plan."

Wincing as she stood, Ari hobbled out the door.

Laine laughed. "Same old Ari."

"So you two have been friends for a long time?" Seto asked.

"Yeah," she replied, her cheerful attitude disappearing in an instant. "We've been friends since we were little kids. I've helper her through...everything."

Laine looked at Seto out of the corner of her eye. "Do you know...about her parents?"

Seto nodded, his mouth set in a grim line.

"God that day was horrible," she said, shivering and hugging herself, as if a cold breeze had kicked up. "I remember hearing my parents talking about it. They said that one of the neighbors heard Ari screaming. When they got over there and saw what had happened, they called the cops, but no matter what they did, they couldn't get her to stop screaming. Eventually, the police showed up with an ambulance, and they had to sedate her. She and Kenta were taken to the hospital, just in case they went into shock. We went to visit her as soon as we could, and..." Laine covered her eyes as tears threatened to spill over. "Her eyes...it was like someone had sucked the life right out of them! She looked like she might as well have been _dead_! Even a year later, that light hadn't returned. I thought she'd never go back to normal..._ever_! But then I saw her today, I saw her look at _you_..._I saw that light come back!_ I never thought I'd be this happy again!"

The blonde looked at him, her expression one of complete and utter gratitude. "Thank you, for bringing that light back to her."

Seto turned away, a little unnerved by the display of emotion. "I haven't really done _anything_. I simply gave her a place to stay, nothing more. If anyone should be grateful, it should be me. Ari and Kenta have made my home alot brighter as well, and they never ask for anything in return."

"Those two have never been selfish, even when they lost everything. They never asked for anything," Laine replied. Her expression suddenly became hard and cold. "But you listen to me; I am grateful that you've gotten Ari back to normal, but I swear to every single god there is and might be in this whole damn world, if you ever, _ever_, do anything to hurt her, I will hunt you down and send you to hell myself!"

The door opened again and both of them looked up.

"Hey, Laine?" I kinda stole your little wrap-a-round ice pack thing so I wouldn't lood like an idiot trying to walk and hold ice on my leg at the same time. Is that okay?"

Instantly, Laine's mood became cheerful again.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice mockingly stern, "but there is no one in this room that goes by the name Laine."

Ari gave her a withering look. "Is that okay, Sayato-_sensei_?"

Laine smiled. "Yes, yes it is."

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After they had helped Laine clean up a bit, Ari and Seto said their goodbyes and left.

When they were in the safety of the limo once more, Ari turned sideways in her seat, lifting her legs up so they could rest on the cool leather. As she leaned back against Seto, he couldn't stop himself from wrapping an arm around her waist. For once, she seemed too worn out to object.

"Your friend was...very interesting," he said.

Ari laughed. "It usually takes a while to get used to her."

She groaned, drawing one leg up to massage the tenseness out of it. "Tell me why I agreed to going to this party with you. Right now, it doesn't really seem worth it."

"Because I would probably come back in a worse mood if you didn't go with me, and then everyone would suffer."

"Right," she snorted.

Seto chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll have fun."

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_Now that I have your attention, I would like to make an announcement._

_First, I just want to thank all of my ever-faithful readers who have left reviews, and added this story to their favorites and alerts lists. It just thrills me to know that people actually like my first big fic. As a little warning, there are only about 5 more chapters left, including the epilogue. I might be adding a little thing I call a 'blooper chapter.' This is where I'll go back through the story with my friends and look at the areas where we could have totally made this fic into a crackfic! We've actually already started on this idea, so I hope you all will like it._


	16. Love is Blind

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, despite my earlier beliefs, I will be using a few more of the characters from the actual Yu-Gi-Oh show in this story. It won't be Yugi or Joey or anything, but you will know them, so don't worry._

_And, I've finished writing all the chapters! Now, all that remains is to type them up! Also, there's actually only four real chapters left. I had to combine the epilogue with chapter 19 because they weren't long enough seperately._

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 16**

Despite Ari's ealier beliefs, the dance lessons actually did become easier as the days wore on. She found that every move she made became more graceful. Even when she was walking, she didn't feel quite like the earth-bound creature she was born as.

Before she knew it, it was the day before the ball. Time had honestly just flown by. Laine had called earlier that day to tell her to forget about practice.

_After all,_ she had said, _if you don't take a little break, you'll be completely worn out and then you won't get to enjoy yourself at that little shindig._

Without the lessons, both she and Seto now had a free afternoon.

Freedom, however, was quickly snatched away.

"Come _on_! You guys haven't had some free time in forever, and when you don't have free time, then we can't go anywhere!"

Kenta and Mokuba had taken it upon themselves to try and convince their older siblings into taking them to the movies.

"Well, we _do_ have to go into town anyway," Seto said.

"What for?" Ari asked, though she already had an idea.

"We still have to get you a dress."

She groaned. "Of course."

"So does that mean we can go to the movies?" Mokuba asked excitedly.

Ari sighed in defeat. "Sure, why not."

"_Yes_!" Kenta cheered.

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"You _absolutely_ have to see _this_ movie?"

"Of course," her brother replied cheerily.

He and Mokuba had decided on the goriest movie that was playing, much to Ari's obvious horror. Seeing this, Seto had tried to persuade them to see something with at least a little less blood, but they stood with their decision.

"It's no problem, I'll be fine!" Ari had said with a nervouse laugh.

They waited in line for their tickets, and before she knew it, they were seated in the very back of a crowded theater.

As the lights grew dim, the chattering of the excited patrons fell silent. Ominous, dark music began to play as the title of the movie was displayed on the giant screen in blood red lettering. Ari gripped the edges of her seat tightly, fingers digging into the soft cushioning.

The first few minutes were surprisingly mild. It simply showed the people bustling around in their offices, busy at work.

Suddenly, everything was thrown into turmoil as a security camera zoomed in on a broken vial that was leaking some kind of bluish liquid. Iron doors began to lock the workers in, then a greyish gas was emitted, killing them all almost instantly. The unlucky few that had been in the elevators soon plummeted to their deaths. A few scientists were drowned in their labs, begging the main computer to spare their lives.

As soon as the first death had occured, Ari had hidden her face in the folds of Seto's trench coat, only daring to glance out when the moans of the undead, and the screams of their victims had ceased. The two younger boys watched with complete fascination. Seto was bored by these types of movies, so he spent his time murmuring words of encouragement to Ari, reminding her that it was nothing more than a movie, just some props and fake blood.

Even with his comfort, the movie was more than she could handle. About halfway through it, she got up and practically sprinted out of the theater.

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Ari sat back on the lobby bench, breathing slowly in an attempt to calm her churning stomach. After running into one of the bathroom stall, she had emptied its contents into the porcelain bowl, not caring who could hear her violent retching.

She closed her eyes again the glaring light of the sun as her stomach lurched again.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Cautiously cracking one eye open, Ari could see she was no longer alone on the cold metal bench. A girl with long, reddish-brown hair sat beside her, big brown eyes, full of concern. A second, taller girl with much shorter hair and an equally short skirt stood beside her.

"I said, are you okay?"

"I'm fine,"Ari groaned.

"You look like you're going to be sick," the second girl said.

Ari chuckled weakly. "Been there, done that."

"Lemme guess," the first girl began, "Someone convinced you into seeing some movie about some grotesque, mutated monster that eats _everyone_!"

"Something like that, yeah."

The girl giggled. "Sounds like something my brother would do. My name's Serenity, by the way."

"And I'm Tea," the second girl chimed in.

"I'm Ari."

"It's nice to meet you, Ari!" Serenity said, beaming. "Hey, waddya say we all hang out, or something? We can do something that doesn't involve blood and monsters!"

Ari glanced back at the theater doors. "I'm kind of waiting for my group."

"Then we'll wait with you," Tea said, plopping herself down on the bench as well.

Before Ari could protest, she heard a dull rumble from behind her as the doors opened, letting out a sea of satisfied movie-goers.

"No _freakin'_ way!"

Tea stood up, looking into the crowd incredulously. Serenity hopped up and down next to her, trying desperately to see as well.

"What is it, what is it?!"

"It's _Kaiba_! Seto _freakin' _Kaiba is actually here!"

"No way! I didn't think he'd actually come to a _movie_!"

"Well, Kenta and Mokuba did have to beg him to take us here," Ari commented idly.

Instantly, the other two girls were practically rigth in her face.

"What do you mean by _us_?" Tea demanded.

Ari blinked, a little disconcerted by the close proximity.

"Seto is one of the people I came with!"

"You're on a first-name basis with him?!"

Both of the other girls looked like they had gone into shock as the boys drew near.

"Ari, you missed one _awesome_ movie!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"You really should have seen it! They had this weird monster that could crawl on walls and stuff! They had injected the virus directly into its brain, so it didn't have any skin left, and-"

"Kenta, that's enough."

Seto cut him off when he saw Ari begin to turn a nasty shade of green.

"Tea! Serenity!"

Mokuba finally noticed them standing awkardly behind Ari, and he dragged Kenta over to talk to them. Seto sat down next to Ari.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Tea and Serenity kept me company."

"Hm. Wheeler's little sister and Yugi's girlfriend, huh?"

"Those are Yugi Moto's friends?'

Seto nodded. "Some of the more tolerable ones, thank god."

"Hey, Seto?"

Both of them looked up to find Mokuba standing in front of them.

"Can Tea and Serenity hang out with us, too?"

Seto frowned a little, glancing at the two nervous girls.

"They did ask if I could hang out with them," Ari said.

"If we let these two come with us, soon the whole little gang will want to tag along," he replied, his brow furrowing.

"Please? They were really nice to me earlier."

He sighed in defeat. "Alright, they can come."

"Yay!" Serenity and Mokuba cheered.

"Wait a minute," Tea interjected. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"Because he'll do anything if Ari asks him to," the youger Kaiba blurted out.

"Mokuba!" Ari and Seto yelled at the same time.

"Oops! Guess it was supposed to be some kind of secret," Mokuba said nonchalantly. "Well, I guess we should get going."

"Yeah, he's right," Ari replied quickly.

She went to stand up, wobbling dangerously. Everyone surged forward to catch her, but never had to. Seto was already right there, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her steady. Ari leaned against him for a few moments, thankful for the support, before straightening up. Seto withdrew his arm. though he remained close by, just in case.

"Well," he said, looking at all of them, "Lead the way."

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"No _way_! You've actually been _living_ in Seto Kaiba's _mansion_?!" Tea whispered fiercely.

After walking around town for a while, all of them had gotten hungry, so they had all stopped in a little restaurant to get something to eat. Ari, Serenity, and Tea had all bought their food, while Seto had agreed to pay for the boys. He was still waiting in line, but the girls had already found a seat. Immediately, Ari had been bombarded with questions as to why she was hanging around Seto Kaiba. As she picked at her salad, the whole story had come tumbling out into the open, leaving her two new friends in absolute shock.

"I still can't believe that he would actually let someone into his house without some kind of catch," Tea said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I know that, to a lot of people, he doesn't appear as the kindest man in the world. But he's done more for me and Kenta than I can ever hope to repay him for, and he's been kind to us. To me, especially, though I have no idea why."

"I wonder..."

"Serenity?" Tea looked at the other girl curiously.

"Ari!" The reddish haired girl's head snapped up as if she had just had an epiphany. "You said he's done a lot of stuff for you, and you won't ever be able to pay him back. Have you every tried to stop him from doing this stuff?"

Ari blinked, confused. "Well, yeah, but-"

"And what does he do when you try to stop him?"

"Well, he usually says that it's no problem, or that he _wants_ to do it for me."

Tea gasped. "I know what you're getting out now, Serenity!"

"I know, isn't it so obvious?"

"What is?" Ari asked.

The other two just looked back and forth from Ari, to Seto, and to each other.

"You mean you don't know?!" Tea whispered.

"Know what?"

"She doesn't know!" Serenity exclaimed quietly, looking like someone had smacked her in the face.

Ari, feeling left out, turned her attention on her food, attempting to guess what conclusion her new friends had jumped to.

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"I don't know, it just seems too...flashy."

"It is kind of bright. And that color doesn't really work with your figure."

After the group had finished eating, Seto had brought up the issue of the party and dress shopping. Tea and Serenity had, of course, jumped at the chance to help. Now they were taking turns picking out dresses and helping Ari try them on. So far, they hadn't found a winner, but they were far from ready to admit defeat. They had enlisted Kenta and Mokuba's help in carrying several different dresses to and from the dressing rooms. Whichever girl wasn't assisting Ari kept Seto busy. They had agreed that he should wait until the evening of the ball to actually see the dress.

At the moment, it was Serenity's turn.

"Hey," she said, turning to face Seto. They were both sitting in the chairs that were placed just outside the dressing rooms. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go on," he replied, his eyes closed, leaning back so he could rest his head against the wall. He was tired, making him a bit more agreeable than usual.

"Well, I just wanted to know, how do you feel about her? Ari, I mean."

"What are you asking?"

"Let me put this in a different way. Say someone was trying to hurt her. What would you do?"

"Kick their asses," he said sharply.

"How about if she was upset, or crying?"

"Try to cheer her up, I suppose."

"And how do you feel when she smiles at you?"

Seto opened his eyes and turned to look at her, his expression a mix of annoyance and confusion.

"Why do you want to know?"

Serenity shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure something out. How about I try to guess how you feel when she smiles?"

He snorted in disbelief. "Good luck."

"Just give me a chance. Whenever she smiles, it feels like the world isn't quite as dark and mundane. Your heart starts to beat a little faster, and it seems like there's more reason to keep on living, even if nothing else is going right. You would do anything to keep that smile on her face, because it seems like a crime when it's gone."

By the time Serenity was finished, Seto was openly staring at her openly, eyes wide.

"How did you-how could you have-"

"Well, I based it off how Ari said you acted around her.

She giggled a little. "They way you act around each other makes it _so_ obvious."

Regaining some of his composure, Seto tried speakin again. "What does it make obvious?"

Serenity blinked. "You mean you don't know it either?"

"If I knew what you were talking about, I wouldn't be asking, would I?" he snapped irritably.

Before she could answer, Tea's voice called out.

"Serenity, come see this! I think we've found the perfect dress!"

The girl rolled her eyes and stood up, but Seto grabbed her arm, his grip tight and his gaze stern.

"_What_ is so obvious to you, and not to me or Ari?"

Serenity smiled. She bent down, so she could whisper in his ear.

"You and Ari are in love with each other!"

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The rest of the day passed in a blur. Seto only vaguely remembered paying for the dress, though the girls had kept it hidden, still insisting that he not see it as of yet.

Everything else was over in the blink of an eye, and he found himself laying in bed, Serenity's words playing over and over. Somehow, he just couldn't quite grasp the concept that he was actually in love.

If someone had asked him a year ago if he planned to fall in love, he would have laughed and said he didn't have time for such nonsense.

Now, however, he wasn't so sure. For the first time in a long time, Seto Kaiba, the cold-hearted, ever-stoic CEO of Kaiba Corporation, was having doubts. The longer he mulled over the words that buzzed in his head, the longer he reviewed the time he had spent with Ari, the more true it seemed. The warm feeling he had gotten by simply kissing her forehead- and it had been a kiss, even he couldn't deny it-had been so intense, that it couldn't have been anything less than an act of love.

As he finally drifted off to sleep, one thought rang in his mind.

_I'm in love...with Ari..._

_...I love Ari..._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_I know, it was a little short, but the next one will make up for it._


	17. The Sashimi Grand Ball

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, here's the next installation of my story!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 17**

And so the night of the ball finally arrived. Ari felt churned from a mix of excitement and nervousness throughout the entire day.

Despite Serenity and Tea's reassurance from the day before, she stil felt awkward about having to wear such a beautiful. She had called Laine the night before to ask if she would be willing to come over and give her a hand getting ready. Laine, being the ever-flamboyant girl she was, had jumped at the offer, insisting she come over several hours in advance.

Now, Ari anxiously awaited her friend's arrival.

Seto was still reeling from his late-night revelation. While he tried to keep Ari calm, he was also fighting an internal battle against his own emotions. Several times, he came dangerously close to just blurting everything out, confessing all he had realized, but luckily he found the strength to keep his mouth shut.

Finally, there was a knock on the large oak doors. Ari dashed down the steps, opening the door as she gasped for breath.

"_Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow_!" Laine exclaimed, gazing around with childlike wonder. "You could fit my studio in her, five times over! It's so _biiiiiiiiiiiiig_!"

"Yes, yes, it's a really big house!" Ari replied, wringing her hands. "Now come _on_! I invited you over for a reason!"

"I know, I know! Calm down girly!"

The blonde lifted up a large bag in one hand, and a shoebox in the other.

"I haf brought ze materials," she said with a fake German accent. "Tell me where to go so zat we can begin ze operazion."

Ari rolled her eyes. "Just follow me."

As they reached the top of the steps once more, they walked by Seto. Laine stopped to grin wildly at him.

"Just wait 'til I'm done with this little lady," she said, jerking her thumb at Ari. "I bet you won't even be able to recognize her. She's gonna look so beautiful!"

"I don't believe there is anything that you, or anyone else, could do that would make her anymore beautiful than she already is."

Both girls stared at him and he immediately turned away, shocked that he had blurted out something so casually.

Laine's grin returned in a flash. "Well, well! Didn't I tell you, Ari? You are a little charmer!"

Ari couldn't have been any more embarassed than she was at that exact moment.

"Come on, Laine. We, um, should, uh, get going."

"'Kay!"

"I'll, um, see you in a little while Seto."

When he didn't respond, Ari grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her down the hallway.

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"Laine, how could you say something like that?!" she asked once they were safely inside her room.

"I was just trying to help," the blonde replied, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

"Oh, and I suppose embarassing me was _helping_?!"

"I wasn't trying to embarass you, I was just stating a fact."

Ari snorted in disbelief. "Right. _I'm_ a charmer. The day I charm a guy is the day the world ends."

"Well, princess, I guess the world just ended!"

"_What_ are you _talking_ about?"

"Mr. Tall, Pale, and Handsome down there is head over heels for you."

"_Seto_?!" Ari nearly choked on mere air. "You think _Seto_ likes _me_?!"

"Ari, Ari, Ari," Laine repeated, wagging her finger back and forth in a taunting manner. "Poor, innocent, naive Ari."

"What, what, what?!"

"This isn't just some simple little schoolkid, playground crush. That boy is in _love_ with you!"

Ari could have fainted right then and there. She grasped the edge of her desk as the room swam in her vision.

"Don't joke around like that Laine," she whispered, afraid to speak any louder.

"Once again, I speak only the truth. Cross my heart, and hope to die a horribly painful death.!"

"That...that can't be true. Seto wouldn't...he wouldn't fall in love with someone as...plain as me."

Before she could blink, Laine was standing right in front of her, absolutely livid.

"Plain? _Plain_?! You have the _audacity_ to think that _you_, of all people, are _plain_?! Have you _ever_ looked at yourself in the mirror?! You are the farthest thing from plain! Just because you haven't noticed it doesn't mean that no one else has! I am telling you here and now; that _bastard_ in the trench coat downstairs _has_ noticed! Read my lips; Seto Kaiba is in love with _you_!"

Ari sat down with an audible thud, right on the carpeted floor. Laine, still fuming, stood above her.

"Do you really think...that Seto would actually love..._me_?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Sighing, Laine crouched down so she was eye level with the other girl. "He's crazy about you! Anyone with eyes could tell you that!"

The blonde cocked her head to one side, a playful grin on her face. "So, waddya say we get you all dressed up, just to add to that natural beauty of yours. You'll be the talk of this whole little shindig!"

Still feeling a little queasy from nervousness and shock, Ari offered a weak smile.

"Okay."

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Seto paced nervously at the foot of the stairs. There were only a few minutes to spare until they had to leave, but Ari had yet to emerge from her room. Mokuba and Kenta had been keeping him company for a while, but all three were now getting kind of anxious.

Footsteps came echoing down from the upper floor, and three pairs of eyes turned to look. Laine now stood at the top of the stairs, admiring the banister.

"Bet this would make for some kick-ass sliding," she commented idly. "Mind if I givie it a go?"

Before anyone could utter an objection, she sat down on the top of the rail and pushed off. Laughing like a girl gone mad, she slid down all the way, leaping off at the end and landing nimbly on her feet.

"I've _always_ wanted to do that!"

"Where's Ari?" three voices asked at once.

"Oh, right, right!" Laine said, brushing herself off. "Presenting, the illustrious, the dazzling, the beautiful-"

"Get on with it Laine!" Ari's voice came from one of the upper hallways.

"-my friend and yours, Ari!"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Ari stepped into view.

All fell silent, and jaws hit the floor.

"_Wow_," Mokuba whispered in awe.

Indeed, it was a sight to behold. Ari's dress was an icy shade of blue that matched Seto's eyes perfectly. It seemed to be covered in glitter, and shone bright as Ari stood under the chandelier. From the waist up, it was form fitting, accenting every curve on her body, and held up by two simple spaghetti straps. The bottom was loose and flowing, with slits up to the knees on both sides. On her feet were simple white sandals with criss-crossing straps all the way to the ankle, and a slight heel. Her hair was in a curly little up-do. It had been straightened, then pulled up to rest on the top of her head, towards the back. Thick curls formed a bun of sorts, and clips with sparkling gems glinted from the depths of her locks. Whispy strands of bangs fell around her face in a silky brown frame.

Ari carefully descended the staircase, which now seemed dull in comparison. She paused at the last step, seemingly very self-conscious with so many people staring at her.

When it seemed that she was too nervous to move any further without some coaxing, Seto composed himself and moved to meet her. She looked up at him shyly.

"What do you think?" she asked.

For a minute, Seto was at a loss for words. He could only stand there and admire the beauty that stood before him. Finally, he took her hand, brushing his lips against the back of it as he bowed low.

"You look wonderful," he murmured.

"Picture time!"

Laine's voice broke the spell that had settled over the two of them.

"Laine, I did _not_ agree to pictures!" Ari hissed.

"Sorry sweety, but they come with the package!"

"Come on, sis! Are you afraid you'll break the camera?"

Kenta cackled with glee at Ari's horrified expression.

"Alright, we'll take the damn pictures," she grumbled.

"Yay! Okay, okay, move together!"

Ari stepped over so she was next to Seto instead of behind him. Without hesitation, he curved his arm around her waist, a movement that had practically become natural. Instead of shying away, as she would have done before, Ari leaned against him. Just as Laine seemed ready to take the picture, she let the camera drop a little, staring as Ari and Seto with a strange look on her face.

"Laine, what's wrong?"

The blonde gave them a lopsided grin. "You two just look so perfect together."

Both of them blushed, Ari moreso than Seto, but it vanished when Laine raised the camera yet again. She snapped a few shots, each time commenting on how absolutely adorable they were.

"You guys are going to be late if you don't go soon," Mokuba said finally.

Instantly, all three bystanders began ushering them towrads the door, telling them to have fun.

As they watched the limo drive off, all three unknowingly shared one thought.

_It's all up to those two now._

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Ari remained cool and collected through the entire ride, but when she saw all the reporters and T.V. crews, her face paled.

"You didn't tell me about _this_."

Seto shrugged. "I figured it was a given. This is a huge event, after all."

"You really should have warned me! I don't do good in front of crowds! I can't do this! I can't, I can't, I ca-"

A pair of strong hands grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

"Calm down," he said quietly but firmly. "All you have to do is ignore them. When we get out, just keep looking forward. Keep your eyes on the entrance, and block out everything else until we get inside. Okay?"

Ari gulped, then nodded. At a signal from Seto, the driver stepped out from behind the wheel, and opened their door. Without warning, they were assaulted by a multitude of voices and camera flashes. Seto stepped out first, oblivious to the people that called out his name. Ari stepped out next, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that surrounded them. After a second of adjustment, Seto offered her his arm. Carefully, she looped hers around it, placing her hand at the crook, and they began the long walk to the entrance.

After what seemed like an eternity, though it was actually only seconds, they walked through the decorated doors. They continued on, following the stream of people until they reached the ballroom.

Everything, from the tall, arched ceilings, to the stereo speakers, had been decorated with bright streamers. Colorful lights danced across the walls as the music played. A long table, laden with food and drink, lined one of the walls. Smaller tables adorned the edges of the dance floor. Everywhere, people were talking, laughing, and dancing. There didn't seem to be a sad or angry face in the bunch. Ari relaxed immediately, glad that there was a laid-back atmosphere. It helped to soother her nerves, quite a bit.

"And here I was thinking you weren't going to show up!"

Ari turned to find a large man grinning at her and Seto.

"A Kaiba always keeps a promise, Matamura," Seto replied, a smirk on his face.

The man chuckled. "Always so formal. But I really am happy you came. And who," he began, his attention shifting to Ari, "is this lovely creature?"

"This is Ari Saito. Ari, meet Matamura Sashimi, CEO and founder of the Sashimi Electronics Company."

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a slight curtsy.

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine," he said, bowing. "Now, please, enjoy yourselves. Eat, drink, dance, etcetera!"

Mr. Sashimi walked away to continue greeting guests.

"He's nice," Ari commented as they took a seat at one of hte tables.

"He's tolerable in small doses," Seto said drily.

"You like him, don't deny it."

He chuckled. "Just a little."

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Seto Kaiba," a feminine voice purred.

Seto bristled like an angry cat, visibly stiffening.

A tall woman with a long, glowing gown stepped out of the shadows behind them. She had long dark lashes that his most of her eyes. There was a confident air about her. Ari, too, was set on guard, watching the woman from the corner of her eye.

Seto vaguely recognized the woman, enough to know that he wouldn't want her around. She had been a part of a large-scale scandal that had caused the downfall of another big company only a few years ago.

"I must say, I'm utterly surprised to see you at such a social event."

One of her hands ghosted along his arm, and Ari felt a flare of anger surge in her stomach.

"Matamura was able to convince me this time around," he replied, his words short and clipped.

"Well, I'm glad he did. Perhaps you could honor me with a dance later."

She batted her eyes, a seductive smile on her lips.

"I'm afraid I will have to decline," he told her, his tone clearly saying he was more than happy to refuse her offer.

Huffing indignately, she stalked off into the crowd, onto her next potential victim.

Ari's eyes bored holes into her back until she disappeared completely.

A glass of water was shoved under her nose. She jerked back, giving Seto a confused look. Again, he pushed the glass her way.

"This will help you cool down. You look like you're ready to breathe fire."

She took the glass, but didn't drink from it. She simply tilted it back and forth, watching the water swirl.

"That woman was just ticked me off. She was being so obvious about coming on to you, I thought I was going to be physically sick."

Seto quirked an eyebrow, leaning towards her a little more. "Are you _jealous_?"

"Yes," she answered, without a second thought.

Smiling, he gently clasped her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"What do you say we put those dancing lessons to good use?"

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The evening fairly flew by. Seto and Ari danced, laughed, and even talked with some of the more pleasant guests. A few other men graciously asked Ari to dance. Seto did not object, but he kept an eagle's eye on them, ready to step in if the man's hands seemed to be getting too bold.

By the end of the night, many people were dead on their feet, giving little more than a nod as farewells as they left. Seto had begun to grow weary as well, so he and Ari finally left.

Even when they reached the mansion, Ari was still twirling happily, dancing to music that only she could hear.

As he watched her, Seto felt that familiar warmth grow in his chest. Serenity's words rang in his head once more.

"...Ari?"

"Hm?" She stopped spinning and looked at him over her shoulder.

He beckoned her to follow as he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. She sat next to him, taking off her sandals and drawing her knees to her chest.

"Did you have a good time?"

Ari grinned. "I had a blast! You were right about it being fun."

The smile faded, and she looked away. "There's just one thing I don't understand."

Seto moved closer to her. Carefully, he began to remove the pins that held her hair in place, letting it fall onto her back as she sighed in relief.

"And what don't you understand?" he asked, gently stroking the soft, brown locks.

She leaned into the touch, and a pleasant shiver ran down her spine.

"I just don't get why you didn't take someone else. I'm sure there's plenty of women who would have gone if you had asked them. And I know that, even without all their dresses and makeup, are a lot more beautiful than me."

Seto chuckled lightly. "I didn't want to take anyone else. I told you that you were the only one I wanted to take with me. Not someone else, _you_. And I've told you before, you _are_ beautiful. More beautiful than anyone I have ever known. I can't understand why you can't see it in yourself."

He felt her begin to shake, almost as if she was about to cry. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he held her tightly against his side.

"Ari, what's wrong?"

"How can you say things like that so easily?!" she asked, her voice quivering with rage. "Every time you start talking like that, it sounds like you've been saying it your whole life! How can you do that?!"

For a moment, Seto merely sat there quietly, stunned. Ari's sudden change in moods had startled him was an understatement. It was completely reasonable, though. After all, if she had been experiencing the same frenzied, conflicting emotions he ahd, then it had only been a matter of time before she found some sort of outlet, or had a break down.

Carefully, trying not to set her off again, Seto wrapped an arm around her waist. Using his free hand, he gently grabbed her chin, turning her face upward so she faced him.

"Ari, I..." He struggled to find the right words. "At first, I didn't know how I could do it either. Then I found an answer, but I couldn't quite bring myself to believe it. But now, I know that answer _is_ the right answer."

Ari listened to him carefully. His gaze was so intense as he said it that she had no doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth.

Seto took a deep breath, bracing himself.

_Here goes everything._

"Ari, the reason I've done so much for you, the reason I can talk to you so easily...it's because...I lo-"

His cellphone rang loudly, shattering the intense moment.

Seto's inner self practically screamed, cursing heaven, hell, and every angel and demon among them. On the outside, he was calm, except for a vein that stood out on his forehead. Digging in his pocket, fishing out the phone, opening it with a loud click.

"What?!" he demanded irritably.

The person on the other line spoke, and Seto's anger evaporated instantly. His face took on a blank, empty expression as he listened.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you."

He shut the phone more carefully than he had opened it.

"Seto...who was it?" Ari asked, watching him worriedly.

Seto turned away, getting up to leave.

"It was your landlord," he replied, his voice hollow and emotionless. "The repairs are done. You can go back anytime."

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_Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I felt like such a bitch writing this little cliffhanger. But this has been part of my plan from the beginning. I should be able to get the next chapter up by later tonight._


	18. Fear

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Alrighty, here we go again!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 18**

Ari felt numb as she changed into her night clothes. She had almost forgotten that she would eventually have to leave the Kaiba's mansion. Now the cold, hard truth had come and slapped her in the face.

_I had almost forgotten...that this place...isn't my home. I forgot that...I don't belong here._

She slowly walked over to her bed-

No.

It wasn't her bed.

It had never been hers.

The bed, the room, the house; none of it.

Suddenly, she felt like she was choking. The air refused to enter her lungs, and they constricted painfully.

_I have to get out of here._

She swiftly pulled her sweats from one of the dresser drawers, tugging them on over her pajamas.

Walking as quickly as she could without actually running, she made her way to the front hall.

As she opened the large doors, she could see that rain was pouring down.

_Just like before_, she thought bitterly.

Without another moment's hesitation, she ran.

She ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, until she couldn't run anymore, and still she kept running.

Her clothes were soaked through in less than a minute, chilling her to the very bone, but she didn't seem to notice.

_I just want to forget_, she thought, tears joining the rain that streaked down her face. I_ want to forget everything. If I forget it all...then I won't miss it. I won't remember that I'm missing anything. I won't remember..._

An image of Seto flashed before her eyes, one of his rare, warm smiles on his face.

The contents of Ari's stomach roiled. She began to retch violently as she clutched at a nearby brick wall for support.

After a few minutes, she straightened up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She shivered as she finally took the time to take in her surroudings.

This was a well known as one of the worst areas in Domino. The crime rate was higher than any other district in the ciry. People had gone missing in this particular district, and even the police didn't look for them that long.

Worst of all, not only was Ari hopelessly lost, but a glance over her shoulder told her she was being followed.

Straightening up again, she urged her tired legs to move. Walking briskly, her mind raced. There was no guarantee she could outrun the three thugs, especially since they were probably familiar with the area.

_Just gonna have to hope I get lucky._

When she rounded the street corner, she took off again. Her muscles ached, and her body screamed in protest, but she kept moving. Not daring to turn around and see if she was losing them, she skidded aroud another corner, raced down an alley, and-

Found herself at a dead end."

"Well, well. Looks like the little mouse got lost."

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Seto felt like his heart was tearing in two. The sharp pain in his chest was almost unbearable, yet there wasn't a single thing he could do.

If Ari wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop her. She and Kenta had only been temporary guests anyway. He had always known they would leave eventually.

_So why did I cling to the hope that they might stay?_

A sudden swell of anger surged inside of him, and he punched the wall by his bedroom door. The ache that his knuckles now pulsed with didn't help his mood in the least.

_I can't just let her go_, he thought, rubbing his now red hand. _If she leaves...I'll never get the chance to tell her..._

Seto stood up again, his resolve firm.

_I have to tell her. If I don't tell her now..._

Well, he just wouldn't think of that right now.

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"Ari?" Seto called, knocking firmly on the door. "Ari, can I come in?"

No answer.

The door opened easily, and he walked in.

Ari was nowhere in sight. The bed was untouched. One of the dresser drawers was half open, clothes hanging out of it as if an animal had gotten in and gone on a ransacking spree.

"Ari!" He scanned the room quickly with his eyes.

After making sure she wasn't anywhere in there, he walked back into the hallway. A lone maid stood to the side, dusting off a picture that hung on the wall. When she saw Seto coming towards her, her eyes widened, and she bowed to him.

"G-g-good evening, M-Mr. Kaiba!" she stuttered.

Not in the mood to deal with some overexcited girl, he cut right to the chase.

"Have you seen a girl with brown hair and green eyes come by here?"

"Um, yes, just a little while ago. A girl like that went out the front door."

Seto was gone in a flash.

_I've got to find her._

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"Do you need some help, little mouse?"

Ari watched the three men carefully. The one in the middle seemed to the leader. His long, black hair hung in his face, hiding one of his eyes. The one visible eye watched her hungrily.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you!" Ari said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Aw, I'm not gonna hurt ya'!"

He stepped forward and raised his hand to her stroke her cheek. Though he did it no differently than Seto once had, Ari felt like this was so much dirtier. She felt like sobbing as his fingertips ghosted over her lips, and she made a split second decision.

The man jumped back with a howl of pain.

"Boss, what's wrong?!"

"She _bit_ me!" he said incredulously. "The bitch _actually_ had the balls to bite me!"

One of his lackeys cracked his knuckles. "I'll teach her some respect!"

Ari fell to her knees, coughing, as the shorter man punched her in the stomach. She whimpered in pain as the leader gave her hair a sharp tug, forcing her to look up at him.

"Whaddya say you stop struggling, and come along quietly? I promise we'll be gentle."

All three of the men laughed, the sound grating on her ears.

_If I'm going down, it won't be without a fight._

Looking straight into the laughing man's eyes, she spat into his face. "You can go to hell for all I care, you arrogant son of a-"

Her head was slammed against the alley wall, and everything began to go blurry.

For a moment, Ari thought she could hear a familiar voice, but before she could look and see for herself, she blacked out.

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Seto drove through the deserted streets, frantically searching. Though there wasn't a single shred of physical evidence, he knew he was getting close.

Even though he felt slightly comforted by the thought of finding Ari, he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Out of nowhere, he slammed on the brakes. The car slid a few feet before stopping. Seto peered out of the rain-streaked windows, desperately trying to see anything.

In a nearby alley, he could just make out some dark shapes moving around. Knowing he was taking a severe risk, especially considering what part of town this was, he stepped out onto the street.

Quietly, he made his way to the alley's entrance. He could see three men, laughing, and in front of them, collapsed on the ground, was-

"Get your disgusting, filthy selves away from her. _Now_."

Seto was the very embodiment of ice, regarding the thugs coldly.

"Hey buddy, back off! We're just having some fun, is all!"

"I'll give you 'til the count of five. I suggest you get away from her.

One of the lackeys reached out to grab Seto by the collar, but the stoic CEO was quicker. He held the man's wrist tightly, and heard the satisfying noise of bones cracking.

"One...two-"

The second man rushed forward. Seto released the first man, then punched the oncoming thug straight in the face. Blood flowed from his nose, which was most definitely broken.

"Three-"

"Okay, ya' psycho bastard, we give!"

All three men scampered into the dark of the night.

Seto watched to make sure they were gone, before rushing to Ari's side. For the first time in years, he came close to crying. A large knot had formed on the side of her head, and despite his efforts, she refused to awaken.

Carefully, so he wouldn't cause her anymore harm, he gathered her into his arms bridal stlye, and ran back to the car.

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Seto paced anxiously outside Ari's bedroom door. As soon as he had gotten her back to the mansion, he had handed her over to the maids, so they could change her into some warm, dry clothes, while he called his personal physician. The older gentleman had been a little annoyed at being woken up so ridiculously late, but he came over immediately.

After what seemed like hours, the door opened.

"How is she?"

"She'll be fine," the man said, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his long, white coat. "She's got a few bruises on her ribs, and a bad bump on her head, so she's going to be pretty sore when she wakes up. And she's got a fever. She's lucky she didn't catch pneumonia, running around in the rain like that." He shook his head. "Just keep her in bed for a few days. Lots of rest and fluids." The old man walked off, mumbling to himself about being too old to work at all hours.

When the man was gone, Seto walked into Ari's room and pulled the chair from its spot at the desk so he could sit by the bed. Seeing Ari like this tore him up on the inside. Her face was flushed, her breathing slightly labored. The knot on her head was more prominent than before.

He got up and went into the bathroom. When he emerged, he held a damp washcloth in his hands. Carefully, he laid it across her forehead. As she shivered unconsciously, he tucked the blankets more tightly around her, and sat back down to wait.

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_It was all too familiar._

_First was the calming darkness._

_Then came the beautiful house._

_The two children running across the lawn, laughing._

_And even though she knew how it would end, all she could do was follow._

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Seto had been nodding off when a soft whimper brought him back to his senses. He looked over at Ari and saw that she was tossing and turning on the bed, caught in the grips of some unseen monster. She whimpered again, this time more loudly.

"Ari?" He gently gave her shoulder a shake, trying to wake her up. "Ari, it's just a dream. Come on, wake up."

Nothing seemed to work, and he grew more worried by the second.

"Ari! Ari, you've got to wake up!"

And, finally, she did. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, a blood curdling scream ripping its way out of her throat as she held her head.

Seto grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her so she was forced to look at him.

"Ari, it's okay! It was just a dream, it can't hurt you now!"

Ari's eyes were wide with pure fear, making her look like a frightened animal. She didn't appear to see him, and though her screaming had stopped, she still didn't seem able to focus on him. Silent tears streamed down her face.

"Ari? Can you hear me?"

Her head snapped around as she noticed him for the first time.

"S-Seto?"

He brushed away the hair that had fallen in front of her bewildered eyes.

"It's okay. You're safe."

With a shuddering sob, Ari practically threw herself at him, burying her face against his chest as she cried. Seto wrapped his arms around her tightly, feeling her tears soaking through his shirt. He rocked gently back and forth, murmuring softly and pressing feather light kisses against her hair. Soon her sobs became quiet hiccups, though her hold on him did not loosen.

"Are you okay now?" he asked.

She didn't speak, but he could feel her shake her head.

"You need to get some sleep."

"No!" she replied quickly, her voice cracking as a fresh wave of tears began.

"They're just nightmares," he told her, resuming the gently rocking motions. "They can't hurt you."

"It's not a n-nightmare, it's a memory. I...I saw them."

"Who?"

Ari shook again. "M-my p-p-parents."

Seto was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was somber.

"I'm so sorry."

"I c-can't go b-b-back to sleep," she said in between hiccups. "I'll just s-see them again."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ari seemed hesitant to answer. She finally did, though it was in a voice so quiet, he had to strain his ears to catch it.

"Stay?"

Seto smirked against her hair. He took off his trench coat, being very careful to keep at least one arm around her at all times; he feared if he let go, she would shatter right there. He lifted up the blankets, sliding underneath them as well. Ari's fever-warm body shivered as he pulled her close. He raised a hand to wipe away her tears as she snuggled closer.

"It's okay. I'm right here."

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_One more chapter to go, folks!_


	19. Belonging

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Well folks, this is it, the last addition the this fic!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them._

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**Chapter 19**

Ari awakened to sun shining brightly on her face, and a splitting pain in her head.

She cracked one eye open, only to tightly squeeze it shut again with a groan. The brightness hardly helped to intensify her headache, almost making her nauseous again.

Every part of her body felt sore; her head, her stomach, her arms, her legs, everything. She was perfectly content to stay still, comforted by the soft bed and the warm body that lay beside her.

_Wait...what?_

Ari opened her eyes again, this time bracing for the onslaught of light. Blinking to clear her vision, and fighting back the pain, she found a very surprising sight.

Seto lay next to her, sound asleep. Just like before, he had one arm wrapped possesively around her waist, the other protectively circling her shoulders.

As the memories of the previous night began to slowly return, she felt more and more pitiful.

She had gotten upset, and run away.

She had gotten herself into danger, and had to be rescued.

She had succumbed to fear, and had to be comforted.

Ari didn't even notice the tears that had begun to fall, even when a gentle hand brushed them away. With a startled gasp, she looked up into tired blue eyes.

Seto caught a tear on the side of one of his long fingers and brought it up for her to see. His lips formed a crooked smile.

"I thought you might be out of these by now," he said quietly.

Ari felt a fresh wave coming, and squeezed her eyes shut again.

"It'll be better if you let it out. Keeping emotions bottled up doesn't help. Trust me, I know."

A few drops broke past her defenses.

"I'm such a coward," she whispered. "I always end up having to lean on people, and depend on them. I can never do anything on my own."

"There's not a damn thing wrong with depending on others. If you need help, there's nothing wrong with asking for it. I've had to learn that the hard way."

Seto yawned loudly. Ari noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

She sniffled. "You're always telling me to get some sleep, so why can't you listen to your own advice?"

"I had to make sure you were actually going to stay asleep," he replied, closing his eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair, an action that seemed to comfort him greatly. "You woulnd't go to sleep at all for a while. Your memory had to be a pretty bad one, because you woke up screaming. It scared me to see you so upset."

"I'm sorry."

Seto shook his head. "There's no reason to be. I did it because I care about you...so much."

He pulled her closer, and Ari could feel him trembling slightly.

"I care about you so much...and I never wanted to see you hurt like that. When I chased those idiots off last night, and I got to you, I...I was scared out of my mind. No matter what I did, you wouldn't wake up."

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

Wiggling her arms out of his tight grip, she wrapped them around his neck. One hand rested on the back of his head. She hid her face in the crook where his neck and shoulder met.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I just...I had forgotten that this place...it isn't my home." A small choked sob escpaed her lips. "I don't belong here."

"Yes, you do." His arms unwound from her body and his hands pushed her back far enough so he could gaze into her eyes. "You and Kenta belong here as much as Mokuba and I do. You've become a part of this house. It wouldn't be the same here without you."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, completely lost in his gaze. "How do you know that I belong here?"

"Because, I can feel it in my soul. You don't just belong _here_, you _belong_ with _me_, and _I_ belong with _you_."

Seto shook his head, laughing under his breath. "I just can't believe it took me so long to realize it."

One arm snaked back around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. His free hand hooked under her chin, turning her face up towards his. Ari's breathing grew shallow and quick as he moved closer.

"You have to stay, because...I love you."

Seto's lips captured her in a warm, passion-filled kiss. An amazing snese of relief washed over him. It was as if he had been dying in the middle of the desert and had finally found water. All he could think was, _Finally...finally..._

For a moment, Ari was too shocked to do anything. But soon she was kissing his back, lacing her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer.

Breathing eventually became a necessity again, and they seperated, keeping their foreheads lightly pressed together. When Ari could trust herself to keep her voice steady, she spoke.

"Seto?"

"Hm?"

"I..." She gulped, summoning her courage. "I love you, too."

His eyes opened again, brimming with warmth and tenderness.

"Good," he replied, smirking, "I would have felt like an idiot if it was one-sided."

Ari giggled. "Yeah, but you'd never admit it."

"Damn right," Seto said, before adding an afterthought. "Well, maybe to Mokuba."

She stifled another laugh against his shoulder, losing herself in the secure feeling she got while being held in his arms. It was a feeling she had never really experienced before. After all, there had never really been time for dating when she had Kenta to care fore.

"You still haven't given me an answer," he said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" she asked lazily.

"Will you stay?"

Ari snuggled closer. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere. I'm nice and warm now."

"That's not what I meant. I want you and Kenta to stay here, in the mansion. That way I can make sure you're safe. I...I don't want to see you get hurt again."

The last part was spoken as a mere whisper. A look of sorrow and pleading plagued his handsome face, nearly bringing tears back to Ari's eyes for the millionth time. Gently, she cupped his cheeks in her hands.

"Do I really mean that much to you?" she asked, ony slightly afraid of the answer.

"Of course you do," he replied, taking one of her hands in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She nodded, smiling. "I'll stay then. After all, you stayed last night when I asked, so I have to return the favor."

Seto's smile at that moment made her feel like she could just melt. She tilted her face forward to kiss him again, making it last as long as possible. After a while, she finally drew back with a reluctant sigh.

"My feelings exactly," he said, smirking when she blushed.

"You sure don't act like someone who barely got any sleep," she teased.

Ari sat up, wincing slightly as bruised skin was forced to move over sore muscles. She lifted the collar of her pajama shirt, glimpsing the bandages wrapped around her ribcage. A gentle hand pressed light against the small of her back.

"You okay?" Seto murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder, lips right against her ear as he spoke.

A delighted shiver curled up her spine. "Yeah, just sore." Her fingers drifted to the bump on her head, flinching violently when the simplest touch brought the pain anew. "God, those jerks did a number on me."

"If I see them again, I'm running them over." he growled.

Ari lauged, clutching at her ribs when the pain flared up.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "I'm just not used to someone being so protective of me."

He pressed his lips to the side of her neck, and she blushed an even brighter shade of red. "You can ask Mokuba; when I decide I care about someone, I put everything I've got into keeping them happy and safe."

"Then I guess you've cared about me for a long time then, huh?"

It was Seto's turn to blush, though Ari didn't see it.

After a few moments of relaxing in the comfortable silence, Ari spoke up again.

"I guess we better get up," she said. "I'm sure the little nutcases are going to be wondering where we are by now."

Her stomach growled, and Seto quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the olny reason you have for getting up?"

"I have absolutely _no_ idea what you're talking about," she said in a haughty tone, though her smile betrayed her.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and went to stand up, only to land face first on the floor moments later. Seto threw off the covers and was at her side in a heartbeat.

"What happened, what's wrong?!" he asked frantically. His expression became confused when she started laughing.

"_That_ is what happens when you try to walk after running all over the city!" she managed to say once the laughter had subsided.

"I don't think you'll make it down the hall, let alone the stairs."

"You're probably right."

Seto sighed, shaking his head. Crouching down on one knee, he turned so his back was to her.

"Wrap your arms around my neck," he ordered politely.

Ari obeyed. As he lifted her into the air, she emitted a squeak of fright. He grabbed her ankles so her legs wouldn't swing. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked at her.

"This should take a little less time."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, surprising him a little.

"It won't if you just site there and stare at me," she pointed out.

He chuckled at her, before carrying her out the door.

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-_Epilogue_-

"I still can't believe dat Mr. Moneybags would actually let us into his mansion widout some kinda catch."

"Well, Ari said that Kaiba said it was fine!"

Tea, Serenity, Joey, Yugi, Yami, Tristan, Ryou, and even Bakura were all making their way to the Kaiba's mansion at Ari's invitation. The boys had gone into absolute shock when they heard the news from the two girls, but, of course, none of them had even thought about passing up such a fine opportunity.

Joey still felt very skeptical about the whole thing, and had to be constantly assured that they weren't being led into some kind of trap.

"How do we know dat dis _Ari_ girl is even tellin' da truth? Aside from you's two, none of us even _know_ her!"

"Don't worry, big brother! If Ari said it, it's got to be true!"

Yugi and Yami walked side by side just behind the two girls, their matching tri-colored locks bouncing with each step.

"I don't get it," Yugi said, a quizzical look on his face. "Who is Ari, and how could she actually convince Kaiba to be nice to us?"

Tea and Serenity exchanged smiles.

"Trust me, you'll have to wait and see for yourself."

The young duelist crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Yami chuckled and ruffled his hikari's hair, mussing the spikes.

"Don't worry, aibou. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah, if the Priest doesn't snap and decide to kill us," Bakura growled, his gravelly voice grating on their ears.

Ryou slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Be nice," he warned. Bakura grunted and looked away.

"I've got twenty bucks that either Kaiba or Joey doesn't make it through the day," Tristan chimed in. "After all, it's only a matter of time until you two actually get into a physical fight!"

Joey snorted. "I could take him."

Yugi gripped his friend's jacket sleeve, looking up with big pleading eyes. "_Please_, Joey, don't start anything with him! This is the first time he's ever been kind to any of us!"

The blonde sighed. "Chill, Yug'. I won't do anything."

When the group finally reached the mansion, Mokuba bounced out to meet them, dragging them inside. Seto and Kenta were in the living room, engaged in a small duel.

" 'Ey, Kaiba'! How goes it?"

Seto turned to face them, frowning. "No barking in the house, mutt."

Joey flushed red. "Stop callin' me mutt, ya' god damn bastard!" he hissed.

"Seto, please tell me you haven't already started a fight with them!"

All of them turned to see Ari come in from the kitchen holding a large bowl of popcorn.

"Hi, Serenity, Tea. Good to see you guys again!"

The two girls waved back. Ari eyed the rest of the group kindly.

"So, are you going to introduce me?"

"Oh, right!" Serenity pointed to each person as she said their names. "This is my big brother, Joey. You have to know Yugi and Yami, of course. The guy with brown hair is Tristan. And the two with white hair are Ryou and Bakura."

Each of them gave her some kind of greeting, except Bakura, who just glared.

"So, what are we doing today?" Yugi asked.

"Kenta and Mokuba wanted a to watch a movie first, if that's okay with you guys."

"Sounds like a plan," Tristan replied, rubbing his hands together as he looked over the large TV and surround sound speakers.

"Alright, then let's get started!"

Kenta hopped out of his seat and ran to put the movie into the DVD player. Seto carefully stacked the cards into a neat pile, before going over to sit on the couch. Ari sat down right next to him while the rest of the group situated themselves around the room.

As the movie began, Joey leaned over to whisper in his sister's ear.

"Come on, spill! Wha's up wit dis Ari chick an' 'ole Moneybags?"

Serenity shot him a small smile. "Take a look for yourself."

Joey glanced up at the two on the couch. Ari's head rested on Seto's lap while he played with a stray lock of her hair. She turned so that she could smile up at him, and his hand moved to instead brush against her cheek, a smile curving his lips upward as well. They murmured quietly to each other, too quietly for anyone else to hear. She giggled at some little thing he said, and she leaned up to gently kiss him.

The blonde looked around at his other friends and found that they all had the same surprised look that he did, confirming what he had just seen.

_I'll be damned_, he thought to himself. _Who'da known dat Kaib' had it in 'im?_

_**The End**_

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_And so the tale has been concluded. Thanks to all who have seen this thing through with me! I just have a few acknowledgements and personal thank you's to make._

_Sakurelle__- The first person to read and review my story. I appreciate the constructive criticism you gave me, and I thank you for sticking with me the entire way._

_ChaoticKinkyCola__- Lauren, one of my best friends, thank you for helping me out with this fic when you weren't working on your own. You made the perfect base for Laine, who really shows your slightly crazy side._

_ClosetEmo__- Brittany, another of my best friends, thanks for reading this and not making fun of me. I know you've been writing stories longer than I have, yet you still said that I did an OK job._

_TranquilSeas__- Thank you for the help you've given me. The idea of Ari learning to duel was great!_

_aubreys-girl__- Your reviews were always enjoyable, especially since they came so faithfully!_

_Thank you all for sticking with me this entire time! I'm thinking about a sequal but I have a few other fic ideas that need to be cared for as well as this one was so that they can fluorish._

_Until the next time!_


	20. Omake: Bloopers

_**Melting the Snow**_

_Okay, okay, I know you all probably hate me for making you wait so long for this bonus chapter, but I have a good excuse: I have a short attention span!! Once I actually finished the main story, I just wanted to take a break, and I kinda forgot. Besides, school is a bitch. School is now officially out, so you guys will get more updates more often, as long as my job doesn't interfere. Alrighty, so let's get this show on the road!! Cracktaaaaaaastic!!_

_Oh, by the way, these bloopers will be written in script form. I don't think they would work any other way._

_**Disclaimer**__: Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeeee don't sue me for using these characters, 'cuz I'm only borrowing them...but if you try to take my original characters, I will steal your sooooouuuuuullll!!_

_Any who, on to the fun!_

--

_Scene 1: From Chapter 9_

_This is a different way that Kaiba's conversation with his subconscious could have gone._

Inner-Kaiba: Oh, just keep saying that, Seto.

Kaiba: growl

Inner-Kaiba: giggle You don't scare me with that little growl of yours.

Kaiba: begins bashing his head against the wall GO AWAY!!

_Scene 2: From Chapter11_

_What would have happened if Seto hadn't caught Ari in time? Let's watch boys and girls!_

Ari: falling and thinking _Well, shit._

Kaiba: goes to catch her, misses completely

Ari: hits concrete OOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!

Kaiba: ...Oops...my bad...

Ari: Oops? Oops?! Dude, what the hell?! Is catching someone who's falling right towards you really that difficult?! I mean...

Kaiba: ...You okay?

Ari: I think I have a concussion, but it's kind of hard to tell considering I HIT MY HEAD ON CONCRETE!!

Kaiba: backs away slowly

_Scene 3: From Chapter 15_

_Let's just say that Laine didn't quite have the strength to move that furniture back into place._

Laine: barricades door with furniture _Ahahahahaha!_ Just try to get me now!

Ari: Laine, come on! You're acting completely ridiculous!

Laine: I don't care!

Ari: He's not going to shut you down, I swear!

Laine: How do I know you're telling the truth?

Ari: sigh How about I promise you my eternal servitude if he does?

Laine: noises begin again Uh-oh.

Ari: What now?

Laine: I think the furniture is stuck.

Ari: That would be karma at work, my friend.

Laine: Oh my god, what if I never get out of here again?! What if I run out of food?! I'll starve and die! I don't want to die!! I'm too young to die!! Help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Ari: Laine, just calm down. Don't do anything too-

Laine: jumps through glass window

Ari: -extreme.

Laine: lies on ground bleeding

_Scene 5: From Chapter 17_

_You'd think a normal person would react a little differently to having a confession of love interrupted._

Seto: Ari, the reason I've done so much for you, the reason I can talk to you so easily...it's because...I lo-

cellphone ringing

Seto: _Sonuvabitchmothererburninhellforever!!_

Ari: ...Holy shit dude...

Mokuba: What's wrong, big brother? Did you lose another duel to virtual Yugi?

--

_Well folks, I hope you've enjoyed this very scary glimpse into the minds of me and my friends. If anyone else can think of moments where something way funnier could have happened in this story, __**SEND ME A PRIVATE MESSAGE, NOT A REVIEW!!**_

_Guten Abend! Ich liebe du!_


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